The Secret of the Sages
by Ariana aka Nereid
Summary: Now how many greats should Link really be putting in there? Will no longer update
1. An uneasy feeling

The Secret of the Sages..  
  
  
  
Disclaimer: I never own anything......**sniff**  
  
A/N: This is sort of a sequel...it takes place after Desert Night...but really has nothing to do with it except that the characters remember all that happened, and Tatl and Tael are Hylians in form. K?  
  
  
  
  
  
It's a nice, cool, 105 degrees in the desert. Nabooru walks outside, admiring the unusually cool day. She can't understand why most of the other races consider this really hot. She shakes it off, and mounts her horse, Grentla. She takes off to the archery range, hoping to shake this nagging in the back of her mind that there is something happening that she should know about. There is no evidence of anything out of the ordinary going on...but something is bothering her. She can't figure it out. The naming council has already taken care of the 3 newborns to join the clan. Including their new King. Nabooru stops at the end of the archery range, remembering the little boy's face. They were going to do right by him. They were not going to let him turn into another Gannondorf. Tallert, it seemed a fitting name.  
  
All names have some meaning in Gerudo culture. She reflects on her own, which has been handed down from mother to daughter. "Strong Willed", that's what it means. Tallert, the "Grace of Power". A king that would be both kind and strong. The kind of King the Gerudos need right now. Especially after past events. Nabooru races down the Archery Range, Grentla in full gallop. Effortlessly, she hits every target dead center. It is getting boring. She always scores a perfect whenever she comes here. She will have to talk to her archers about making it more challenging. As she looks up at the sky, she sighs. The darkness of night is coming, and the goddesses are giving them a light show (A/N: Think Northern Lights). She admires their creativity and style, then goes back into the fortress. That feeling hasn't gone away, but has come back even stronger. What is going on?  
  
  
  
Here is the starting point. Hope it looks promising! 


	2. SAY WHAT!

The Secret of the Sages  
  
  
  
Disclaimer: Do you really need to ask?  
  
  
  
  
  
"Nabooru?" Nabooru looks up from her desk. Collent, one of their mages, is standing in the door. She gestures for her to come in.  
  
"What is it?" Nabooru asks. Collent just hands her a note.  
  
"Some people from Hyrule Castle came here and said that you needed to see this immediately." She says. Nabooru takes the note. Collent, her duty accomplished, bows and leaves. Nabooru carefully unfolds the note, then almost passes out from shock.  
  
  
  
****To all Sages, this is urgent. Please report to Skyword point in Hyrule field at three p.m. tomorrow. I realize this message would have gotten to you faster by just sending a telepathic message, but I have reason to believe that we are being monitored. Please come, and remember to be ready for battle. I hope it is not necessary, but be prepared. This is extremely urgent, so everyone must attend. Thank You, Zelda.****  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
It takes a full minute for the impact of what was happening to sink in. Then Nabooru goes into her room, paperwork unfinished. She reaches under her bed for her favorite Scimitars. From the sound of it, she will need the extra powerful swords. She also grabs her bow and quiver, and about 30 arrows. Unfortunately, there isn't time to get more. It will take her about a day to reach the spot. She hurries over to Selta, the next in line of command.  
  
"Selta?" Nabooru calls. Selta looks over, then snaps to attention.  
  
"Yes, exalted Nabooru?" she asks. Nabooru looks her straight in the eye.  
  
"I have to go on urgent business. Keep everything under control." Selta nods. "Oh, and while you are at it..." Nabooru adds, noting that Selta is also a master archer, "See about making the archery range more challenging." Selta smiles.  
  
"Yes, exalted Nabooru!!" Selta has been waiting for this opportunity. She has been complaining that the range is too easy for a long time now. Well, she now has two jobs. Nabooru, confident that the fortress, and their King, is in good hands, leaves for Skyword Point.  
  
  
  
  
  
**12 hours of walking**  
  
  
  
//This isn't good..// Nabooru thinks. //The field is much too quiet.// Nabooru is almost at the point. She looks over to the side, and sees the Zora princess, Ruto.  
  
"Nabby!!" Ruto cries. Nabooru shakes her head. She hates that nickname. But since Ruto has a thick skull, she can't really do anything about it. She slows down so the fish can catch up.  
  
"Ruto, do you know what is going on?" she asks. Ruto shakes her head.  
  
"I just got a note from Zelda saying to meet, and that it was urgent." Nabooru frowns. This really isn't good.  
  
"Did you encounter....anything......on your way over here?" Nabooru says after a moment. Ruto shakes her head again.  
  
"The river and field are unusually quiet." She responds. This is getting worse by the moment. They look up ahead, and they see that they have arrived at their destination. Link and Draunia are waiting for them. Saria is also there. Everyone looks at each other.  
  
"Same story all around?" Nabooru asks. They don't even have to ask. They all nod. A few moments later, Rauru, Impa and Zelda arrive. All eyes go to them.  
  
"We have a grave problem." Rauru says. Sheik arrives a moment later.  
  
"Sorry I'm late." He says. Everyone turns back to Rauru.  
  
"As I was saying, we have a huge problem. The seal has been broken." All eyes go wide. "But that isn't the problem. Gannon is still in the Evil Realm. He hasn't moved." Nabooru thinks about this a moment. He has free clearance to leave, why hasn't he? Everyone is also confused. What is going on?  
  
"What is this?" Draunia asks.  
  
"We are not sure. No one else is in the Evil Realm as far as we know. That is the problem." Zelda says. Sheik rolls his eyes. Link grits his teeth. Impa looks down a bit. But what could possibly be happening?  
  
"So what do we need to do?" Saria asks. Zelda steps up a bit.  
  
"Before we were born, others were sages. We need to find their signs." Nabooru stares at her. Zelda just sighs. "We need to find the secrets of the previous Sages. They would hold the key to this crisis." We all look at each other. Everyone is thinking the same thing.........where do we start?  
  
  
  
To be continued....... 


	3. I promise this will get better as it goe...

The Secret of the Sages  
  
  
  
Disclaimer: I will never own it. I am poor.  
  
  
  
"OK, let's think about this logically." Sheik says. They are all in a circle, only they have moved to Lake Hylia. Nabooru looks around the island they are all on. One tree, directly over the Water Temple. A good defense, if it weren't for that bridge leading right to it.  
  
"What logic?!" Link shouts. Link's habits lately have been to hurt first and talk later. He has been getting really edgy. Did he unconsciously sense this coming? We all look at him.  
  
"Well, Link." Impa says. "If you want to go all over Hyrule with no idea what you are looking for, be our guest." Link shuts up. Impa just nods. Does she even understand what a smile is? Everyone turns to Sheik.  
  
"You have some kind of idea?" Zelda finally asks. Sheik nods.  
  
"Well, we all know our own elements. The sages before us had the same ones right?" Everyone except Rauru nods. Rauru looks down.  
  
"Sorry everyone." He says. "Each generation of Sages has different symbols. So we can't go by the same ones we have." Link slaps his forehead. Nabooru whistles. Impa growls a bit. Everyone else is just in shock.  
  
"Rauru...." Zelda says, "At least tell us you know what they are...." Rauru nods.  
  
"I do. But I don't know where their temples are." Link is on his feet.  
  
"SO SPILL ALREADY!!!!!!!!!" Link shouts. Draunia, who was sitting next to him, reaches up and shoves him back down.  
  
"If you will just calm down...."Rauru says. "I will." He waits for a moment to see if Link will give them another outburst. When he is satisfied that Link has finally calmed down, he continues. "There are six of them as well. Rock, sky, solar, lunar, eclipse, and life." Everyone thinks about this for a few minutes.  
  
"Hey Rauru?" Nabooru asks. Rauru turns to her. "Do Sages die?"  
  
"No, they are sealed in special chambers in their temples." Saria's eyes go wide.  
  
"So, there are never the same symbols ever again?" she asks.  
  
"Not exactly...." Rauru replies. "We are only the Second Generation of Sages."  
  
"The SECOND?" Impa cries. "Tell me you're kidding....." Rauru shakes his head.  
  
"But, Sages have existed since the beginning of time....." Ruto says.  
  
After this whole thing sinks in, they begin to plan what to do.  
  
  
  
**Back in the Fortress....Nabooru is in a really great mood....**  
  
  
  
Nabooru is looking through stacks of papers. The discarded ones are in a pile in a corner. One of the guards comes in just as she throws another one into the pile.  
  
"Lady Nabooru?" She asks carefully. Nabooru looks up.  
  
"Yes?" Nabooru is really impatient.  
  
"We....um...we were wondering what you were doing..." Nabooru looks at her for a moment. Then she just sighs.  
  
"I need some information, and I am not finding it." She finally says, gesturing to the pile. "Do you know anything about the Sages?" she asks. The guard looks at her a moment.  
  
"Of course! Fire, Forest..." Nabooru shakes her head.  
  
"No, before those." The guard just stares a moment.  
  
"I'm sorry Lady Nabooru, I have no knowledge of any before those." Nabooru sighs. This is going to be difficult.  
  
"Don't worry about it." Nabooru goes back to her search, and the guard leaves. As Nabooru goes through the books, something clicks in her mind. But it is not clear enough to make out yet. Something.... a place with knowledge.... she has been there.....some book...they just did this!! It is right there, yet out of her reach. She goes back to what she was doing, hoping it will come of its own accord. As she is looking through the back books, one catches her eye. 'Of fairies and Kokiri', one of their children's books. Fairy......FAIRY ELENTEN!! The book she needed to defeat the fairies!!! The abandoned Sheikan Village! Maybe that holds the key. Just one problem, the last time, they had directions. She doesn't anymore. Not unless she can convince Sheik to help her. She cleans up so it doesn't look like a desert twiler came through, and then heads over to Hyrule Castle, hoping Sheik is there.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
To be continued...... 


	4. A bit more searching,Sheik is going to l...

The Secret of the Sages  
  
  
  
Disclaimer: Do you really have to ask?  
  
  
  
"You want me to do WHAT?!" Sheik cries. Nabooru is standing in front of him, trying to keep calm. She didn't find him in the Castle, but in Kakariko. Impa is there as well, and just as confused.  
  
"We have to try something...."Nabooru says. "We found the answer once, why not again?"  
  
"Because lightening never strikes the same place twice." Impa says. Nabooru looks at her.  
  
"I have a guard who would disagree with that." Nabooru returns. Impa stares at her a moment, then decides not to ask. She looks over at Sheik. So does Nabooru.  
  
"What do you think?" Impa asks him. Sheik thinks a moment, then nods.  
  
"Couldn't really hurt. We are never using that location again anyway. May as well." Nabooru wants to shout her joy, but doesn't. They head off to the former Sheikan Village.  
  
  
  
  
  
**In another part of the Wonderful World of Hyrule....uh oh....**  
  
  
  
"I'm telling you Link, it is over here!!!!" Saria is shouting in his ear. Link just sighs and follows the young Sage. As he walks a little ways behind her, he wonders how close he came to being the first Hero of Time who was deaf. He comes out of his own world when he sees Saria has stopped. A huge building, deep in the forest. Even the Kokiri refused to come this far, believing it was a curse to step foot here. All around, trees are extremely close. You can't help being claustrophobic. Saria looks up at the door. A strange symbol is on it. Could it be one of the lost temples they are searching for? Link goes up and runs his hand along the design. A circle enclosing what looks like a small plant or tree shooting from the ground. They look around a bit.  
  
"So how do we get in?" Saria finally asks. Link is looking for any kind of device to open it. "There has to be some way." She continues.  
  
"I realize that.." Link says. "But that isn't making it...Hey Sar." Link looks down and sees a switch, but it is really stuck. He jumps on it a few times, but it doesn't budge. No worries, he knows exactly how to deal with that. He splits an evil grin.  
  
"Should I stand over there?" Saria says. Link nods. Then he pulls out the Megaton Hammer, and slams it on the switch.......and does absolutely nothing.  
  
"Should have brought Draunia...."Link mumbles. Saria is laughing on the other side.  
  
"If I go over and do it on one try, can I get a prize?" Link glares at her.  
  
"If you can do it, you can name it." Saria goes over and looks at the switch. Then she notices that it is two switches, one inside the other. When the hammer hit, it hits the outer one, which made it so the inner one didn't budge. So Saria pushes the inner one. They turn around, and the door is open. Saria sticks her tongue out at Link.  
  
"I get to name my prize, huh?" she reminds him. Link just sighs. Then they both head in.  
  
  
  
  
  
** Down by the water......early in the....aww skip it**  
  
  
  
Ruto is insistent that one of them is in the lake somewhere. And she is determined to find it. As she scans the bottom of Lake Hylia, she sighs. Maybe she should have told her husband what she was doing. But she didn't want him mixed up in this. And so, she continues her solitary search......for about another 10 seconds.  
  
"Whatcha doing?" Reiyno pops up in front of her. She is startled, but doesn't crash. "Come on, I just want to help."  
  
"And I don't want you to get hurt." Ruto shoots back. Reiyno steps back and flexes his fin blades. They are extremely sharp, and he has taken very good care of them.  
  
"What kind of husband would I be if I let my wife do something dangerous while I sit around in safety?" he asks. Ruto has to smile at that. Then she gets serious.  
  
"Are you sure?" she asks carefully. Reiyno nods. So they talk a bit, then they both start searching together.  
  
  
  
**Back with Sheik, Nabooru, and Impa, now there's a clash waiting to happen**  
  
  
  
"Do you even remember where it is?" Nabooru asks. Sheik hisses at her. Impa just sighs.  
  
"Yes I remember." Sheik says. "It's not supposed to be easy to get to." Nabooru sighs, then continues following. After a loooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooong walk, they finally make it. The place is just as they had found it last time, trashed. Impa, seeing this for the first time, gasps.  
  
"I knew there was damage, but this much?" she says. Nabooru and Sheik head over to the head lodge, and when she comes to her senses again, Impa follows.  
  
  
  
To be continued......  
  
  
  
  
  
Knowing my luck, this will be about the same format as Desert Night. I will have some battles in the next chapter, you don't honestly think I'm going to let Link and Saria off that easy, right? I may make Rauru actually fight, but I haven't decided yet. :) 


	5. Lylan, the Sage of Life, and a book no o...

The Secret of the Sages  
  
  
  
Disclaimer: Do you really need to ask? -_-  
  
  
  
  
  
Rauru looks around in the Temple of Light. There is a HUGE library there, and he believes that he should at least find out something about the former temples. He hasn't even gone through a tenth of the books there, and he has been there for the better part of 4 days. He sighs, then goes back to his reading. Then he looks up.  
  
"I could have sworn I heard something.." he mumbles to himself. He looks back down at the book, and the sound comes again. Someone is trying to sneak around. He slowly gets up. Unlike the other sages, he has absolutely no fighting ability. As he turns a corner, he can see a shadow. Someone is in here. He picks up a large candleholder and walks over to it. But before he can make a move, something hits him, and he is knocked out.  
  
  
  
**Back in the Sheikan Village**  
  
  
  
"Anything?" Nabooru asks. She, Impa, and Sheik are searching in the basement of the head lodge.  
  
"Nothing that would help us." Sheik replies. Impa looks through the window into the next room. Then she just shakes her head.  
  
"This is getting us nowhere. I told you it wouldn't." Impa says. Nabooru just looks at her. "We are wasting valuable time." Nabooru sticks her tongue out at her, then picks up another book. She looks at the title, then turns back to Impa.  
  
"What was that comment earlier? 'Lightening never strikes the same place twice'?" Impa looks at her.  
  
"So?" she says. Nabooru holds up the book. It has six strange symbols on it, and is titled "The Sages of Universe" and lists the temple elements. Impa's jaw drops. Sheik just stares.  
  
"My guard is right." Nabooru says. Sheik looks at her.  
  
"You know, I've been meaning to ask about that..." he says. Nabooru gives a grim smile.  
  
"Well, a certain someone, coughLinkcough, played a certain song in the desert, coughSongofStormscough, and of course, a huge lightening storm came down. Well, some of our guards were out there training. One of them got nailed by a lightning bolt. She thought that it couldn't possibly hit twice in the same place, so she stayed there. And about 2 minutes later, was struck again." Impa slaps her forehead. Sheik can't believe it.  
  
"AND SHE SURVIVED?!" he asks. Nabooru smiles.  
  
"Well, of course!! We're not weaklings you know." She opens the book. Then she starts going to random pages. "This isn't good...."  
  
"What isn't good?" Impa says. Nabooru hands the book to her.  
  
"See if you can tell what language it is in, I can't." Impa takes the book, and flips a few pages. Then she just shakes her head.  
  
"I've never seen it before. Which means one of three things." Sheik and Nabooru look at her. "It is in Zoran, Goron, or a language that no one in Hyrule speaks." Nabooru sighs.  
  
"So how do we find out which?" She asks. Sheik looks up.  
  
"Darunia and Ruto." He says. They teleport to Lake Hylia.  
  
  
  
  
  
**In the forest with Saria and Link**  
  
  
  
  
  
"Wow. This place is huge...." Saria says. She and Link are inside the building. In the main room, there is a large circle on the floor. Also carved in it is the symbol they saw on the door. They walk around a bit, just taking it all in.  
  
"I wonder what this place is...." Link says. He stops in front of a torch. Something funny is going on here. He inspects it more closely. Saria stares at him from the other side of the room.  
  
"Link, what are you doing?" she asks. "It's a stupid torch. Get over it." Link looks over at her.  
  
"I feel like we are being watched. Something isn't right here." Link turns back to the torch.........only it isn't there anymore. None of the torches that were around the room are there now. Saria runs over to Link.  
  
"I'm scared now." She says. Link draws his sword.  
  
"YOU DARE TO COME INTO THIS SACRED PLACE." The voice sounds like a female, and it is coming from everywhere. "STATE YOUR PURPOSE." Link stands up straight.  
  
"We are trying to find the temples of the previous sages." He states. There is a pause. Then, maniacal laughter.  
  
"WELL, WELL, AREN'T WE MISTER HERO." The voice says. "IF YOU ARE WHO YOU SAY YOU ARE, THEN PROVE IT!!" The moment she says 'prove' a ton of Stalfos and Lizafos come crashing down from above. Link and Saria are completely surrounded.  
  
"We're doomed." Saria says. Link gives her a quick glare, then looks around. He will have to figure out how to do this quickly, or they won't have much time to regret it.  
  
  
  
  
  
**Death Mountain**  
  
  
  
Darunia wanders around inside the Fire Temple. On every wall are Goron hieroglyphs from ages ago. He slowly goes down each wall, trying to find some kind of hint.  
  
"Goddess created Hyrule.....sages born.....sages to protect..."he mumbles as he reads it. "This is stuff I already know. I must be missing something." He goes into the next room and goes around the glyphs again. Then he stops suddenly.  
  
" 'When the Sage of Rock was unable to continue as Sage, he was sealed inside of his temple. Because of lack of space, the mountain around the temple was transformed to accommodate the new temple.......The Temple of Fire'." He can't believe it. He has been inside the Rock Temple pretty much all his life. But, how can he find the previous sage? He keeps reading. Then he runs deeper into the temple as fast as he can.  
  
  
  
**Back with our happy trio**  
  
  
  
"RUTO!!!" Impa yells. They are at Lake Hylia. This was where Ruto said she was going to be. Nabooru picks up a rock and hurls it into the lake. Ruto comes up quickly, along with Reiyno.  
  
"Do you mind?" Ruto asks. She takes the rock Nabooru threw and throws it back at her. Nabooru dodges and it lands somewhere behind her. The two Zoras come out of the water. "What's going on?" Ruto asks.  
  
"We need to know if you can read this." Impa holds the book out to Ruto. She opens it, and flips the pages for a few moments. Then she sighs.  
  
"Sorry, I can only read Zoran." She says. Reiyno is reading over her shoulder.  
  
"It's not Hylian, what is it?" he asks.  
  
"We don't know." Sheik says. "We were hoping it was Zoran."  
  
"Sorry guys." Ruto says. Impa takes the book back.  
  
"Well, we have to go up to Death Mountain then." She says.  
  
"Any luck finding a temple?" Nabooru asks.  
  
"Not yet." Ruto responds. "But there has to be one near a water way."  
  
"How far does Zora's River actually go?" Sheik asks. Ruto looks at him a moment.  
  
"In West Hyrule, it goes into some really thick forest. The lines are drawn there. No Zora has gone into it. Well, none I know of anyway." Ruto thinks a moment. "You may have something there..I'll see about taking a look."  
  
"Be careful." Impa warns. Ruto smiles, then she and Reiyno dive back into the lake. The trio heads up to Death Mountain.  
  
  
  
**Link and Saria......this is getting ugly**  
  
About half of the enemies are down. Well, they would be, if they weren't being regenerated every time he slayed one. Link is starting to run out of steam. Saria has been doing her best to help, but her magic is mostly defensive.  
  
"Try Din's Fire!" Saria shouts.  
  
"I have done that ten times already!!" Link shouts back. "It doesn't work!" Link starts looking on the ceiling. The only way to end this is to kill them all at once. But how? Then he gets an idea.  
  
"Saria, I need to borrow some of your magic power." Saria looks at him. Then she goes over and holds on to him tight. Link charges up his sword until it glows white. Then he releases a massive spin attack, taking out everything....including some of the wallpaper. They stand there staring. Saria drops to her knees and cries softly. Link leans down to her.  
  
"You all right?" he asks. She nods. Then they see a bright flash. Link quickly gets up and turns around, sword still drawn. Saria remains on the floor, but looks up. A young woman is standing there. She is about Zelda's height, and is dressed like Saria. On the front of the tunic, is the symbol they saw on the door and carved on the floor. She smiles at them.  
  
"So you are the Hero of Time." She says.  
  
"Wait....we heard your voice earlier." Link says. She nods.  
  
"Allow me to introduce myself. I am Lylan, the Sage of Life. But, my symbol was declared no longer needed in the world. And so I remain here." She looks down at Saria. "So you are the one who replaced me." She says. Saria is confused.  
  
"What do you mean, replaced?" she asks. Lylan goes over to her and helps her up.  
  
"Come this way." She says gesturing to a door. "We can talk in comfort here." They all head off.  
  
  
  
  
  
To be continued....  
  
One down.......5 to go........darn. 


	6. I can't think of a good title

The Secret of the Sages  
  
  
  
  
  
Disclaimer: Everything is Nintendo's. I own Ruto's husband, Reiyno, and the general plot. And I made up the temples. That's about it.  
  
  
  
Random thought of the Day: IT'S TOO FRICKEN HOT!!!!!!  
  
  
  
  
  
"You still haven't explained what you meant by 'replaced'." Saria says to Lylan. Lylan has moved them into another room in the temple. It is a small room, with 3 couches around a table and a fireplace in the corner. Link and Saria sit on one of the couches, while Lylan takes the one across from them.  
  
"After a few centuries, the sages are evaluated. If they feel that the sages have done their jobs correctly, they can stay. Otherwise, they are dismissed and sealed into their temples." Lylan looks at Link. "I remember the Hero of Time from our era. His name was Link also. You must be one of his descendants." Link looks at her strangely. Saria speaks up.  
  
"Who's 'they'?" She asks. Lylan is confused.  
  
"You don't know?! The Golden Goddesses, of course." She replies. Lylan looks down a bit. "We were not strong enough to help out our Hero of Time. He had to give his life to seal that evil man. It's a good thing his wife had already fled with his child. Otherwise, who knows what would have happened here."  
  
"Hmmmmmm.." Saria thinks a moment. "So how did they come up with me to be the Sage of Forest?"  
  
"Most likely because you had a deep tie to the Hero of time." Link looks up.  
  
"I think we should get down to business now." He says. Both ladies turn to him. "The Evil Realm was found open, but Gannondorf, the one we sealed, hasn't escaped. Rauru said that we needed to ask you about it." Lylan looks down.  
  
"Tronolf." She says. "I have heard of this 'Gannondorf' that you sealed. His power is only half of what Tronolf's is. And that's if he is the same as when he was sealed." Link's eyes go wide.  
  
"Tell me you're kidding..." he says. Lylan shakes her head.  
  
"Sorry Link. I don't really know what I can do to help." Link jumps up.  
  
"BUT YOU SEALED HIM BEFORE!" he shouts. Lylan just looks at him.  
  
"Link, I am 10 feet away from you. There is no need to yell. And weren't you listening before? OUR HERO OF TIME DIED SEALING HIM. We don't know why. He wasn't struck, and as far as we could see, he had plenty of health."  
  
"Please....." Saria pleads. "At least try to help us....." Lylan thinks a moment, then finally caves in.  
  
  
  
**Back with the Happy Trio!**  
  
"Sheik, if you EVER mess up my landing again...." Nabooru threatens. They have just arrived on Death Mountain via transporting. Sheik made a small miscalculation and ended up tripping Nabooru when she came out. Of course, the Gerudo was mad. Impa just stood there for the 10 minutes that Nabooru yelled at Sheik.  
  
"Are you finished?" Impa finally says. Nabooru turns to her.  
  
"No, but I'll stop now anyway." She replies. They head into Goron City.  
  
  
  
**Goron City, bottom floor**  
  
  
  
"Sorry, Daddy's not here." Darunia's son, Link, tells them. Impa looks at him.  
  
"You can read Goron, right?" He looks at her weird.  
  
"Yeah....I am a Goron." He says. (A/N: So he's a little smart-alek. Give up.)  
  
"Do you think you can tell us if this is in Goron?" Impa says handing the book to him. Link looks it over a moment, then flips the pages a few times.  
  
"Sorry, this isn't Goron." He says, handing the book back. Impa nods.  
  
"Thanks for helping us out. When your dad comes back, will you tell him we were looking for him?"  
  
"Sure." Link says. The Trio heads back outside the village.  
  
  
  
**Ruto and Reiyno**  
  
Our happy couple is racing down Zora's River. They continue westward until they reach the place where the forest starts. The one that is supposed to be cursed.  
  
"Great..this place...." Ruto says.  
  
"The Great Sage of Water is afraid of a few trees?" Reiyno says. Ruto jabs him.  
  
"This isn't a joke you know." She says.  
  
"I know that. But you look like you are going to your death." Reiyno says back. They dive under and head on in. But after about an hour of traveling, Ruto decides to look on land. When she comes up....she finds a trail. It looks like a simple dirt path, but it is lined with strange shapes. Unfortunately, the years have taken their toll, and they are unrecognizable.  
  
"Hey Reiyno...." She calls. Reiyno comes up and looks. Then he bends down to observe a bit closer.  
  
"Hey, I think I recognize this...." He says brushing away at one of the shapes. With the dirt off of it, they both examine it more. It is a picture of two circles closing in on each other. They stare at it a moment, then decide to follow the path.  
  
  
  
**Anyone wondering what happened to Rauru?**  
  
  
  
Rauru wakes up in a strange room. Whatever he is lying on isn't comfortable. In fact, it feels like some kind of metal. He looks around. Three walls, and bars. A crude jail. Someone wants him away. He goes over and looks through the bars. On the other side is a comfortable looking room. A large chair is facing a fireplace.  
  
"Aah, so you have finally woken up." A voice says. Rauru figures the owner is in the chair, since that seems to be the only thing he can't see from where he is. "I thought the second generation Sages were supposed to be stronger." Rauru grits his teeth.  
  
"And just who might you be?" he asks. The chair turns around. A young man, maybe 20-25 as far as looks, and dressed in black armor stands up.  
  
"Your predecessor never mentioned me?" he says. "Can't say I blame him. After all, I took the soul of their Hero of Time with me into the Evil Realm. They probably think he died. I am not surprised the Golden Goddesses took their powers away after that." Rauru gasps. That can't be true...can it?  
  
"You....you..."Rauru can't even bring himself to say it.  
  
"Oh dear, I never introduced myself, did I? Forgive me." The false gentleman act is starting to wear on Rauru. "I am Tronolf, second King of the Gerudo Thieves." Rauru's eyes go wide. That long ago? How did he escape?  
  
"No....." Tronolf smiles.  
  
"I notice you decided to seal a descendent of mine. What was his name.....oh yes. Gannondorf. Kind of a weakling. You won't need to worry about him escaping for a while. Although that last attempt of his was pretty pathetic." Tronolf paces in front of the cage a bit. "Now, you understand, I can't have you sages running around and waking up all of the former ones. Wouldn't be proper, you see. So, I will have to figure out what to do with all of you." Rauru's mind races. Time is definitely running out.  
  
  
  
To be continued..... 


	7. Bad guy's getting pissed

The Secret of the Sages  
  
  
  
Disclaimer: The same as always  
  
  
  
Zelda is in her library. The library itself looks like a tornado decided to touch down there. She hasn't even bothered to put the books back on the shelves. All of the writings from long ago are stored here. The princess slowly goes through each one, hoping to find some kind of clue. She finishes the book she has, and carelessly tosses it behind her.  
  
"OW!" Zelda turns quickly. Standing there is Nabooru, rubbing her head.  
  
"Sorry," Zelda says. Impa and Sheik come in the door right behind Nabooru. Impa takes one look at the place and shakes her head.  
  
"Zelda, this place is a mess.." she says. Zelda just shrugs and goes for another book.  
  
"What are you looking for anyway?" Nabooru asks. Zelda doesn't even turn to her.  
  
"Anything that could tell us the locations of the former temples." She replies. Impa takes the book they found and puts it in front of Zelda.  
  
"You can read the ancient languages. Can you read this?" she asks. Zelda flips through the book. She nods.  
  
"I can read parts of it...but not much." She says. "I am not sure what language it is in. But it hasn't been used in Hyrule for well over 2 millennia." Sheik is in shock. Nabooru sits down in a chair. Impa looks at Zelda for a long moment.  
  
"Zelda...what about Rauru? He's a few millennia old." Zelda thinks a moment. Then she nods.  
  
"Yes, that may work. But we would need to enter from the Temple of Time." They all head off to the Temple.  
  
  
  
**Darunia's turn**  
  
  
  
"Wow...I never knew about this room...." Darunia is standing in a gray room in the Fire Temple. In the center is some kind of stone box. The hieroglyphs that led Darunia here continue around the room. He takes a moment to read them. Then he steps back a bit.  
  
"So that's why....." he whispers. A loud, grinding sound echoes in the room. Darunia turns to see the top of the stone box opening. He pulls out a Megaton Hammer and stands ready to fight. The lid crashes to the floor, making the room shake. Darunia holds his position. Slowly, a figure starts to rise up.....  
  
  
  
  
  
**Back with the Zoras :) **  
  
  
  
After a while of searching, they come on a huge building. It seems to be made of some kind of blue crystal. A river runs right under it. The building itself seems to flow. Ruto and Reiyno just stand there a moment staring.  
  
"I have got to learn how to do that." Reiyno finally says. Ruto finally closes her mouth. They both go up to the entrance. Reiyno tries to open it, but it doesn't even budge. Ruto gives him a hand, but it still won't move. They start searching for another way in.  
  
  
  
**Rauru's turn again**  
  
  
  
"Let's see here...." Tronolf says. "I can't have you people running around. So what's the best way to do something about it?" He paces a bit. Then he looks up. "That's right, this group has a Gerudo in it...I can use her." Rauru bits his lip. He doesn't want to blurt out anything to help this monster. Tronolf goes up to him. "How about this....if you tell me the symbol of the Gerudo, I'll let you live." Rauru finally has had enough. He spits in Trololf's face. Without even blinking, The evil Gerudo wipes it off. Then he snaps his fingers.  
  
"What?" Rauru ends up saying. Two Lizafos appear.  
  
"Now, I will ask you again. What is the symbol of the Gerudo Sage? Or do my pets here need to extract it....." Both of the Lizafos appear hungry. But Rauru keeps his mouth shut.  
  
"My king." Rauru looks, and a guard of a species he has never seen is there. It looks kind of like a Zora, but not.  
  
"I am in the middle of something very delicate here. This had better be good!" The guard cringes.  
  
"The Kokiri Sage and their Hero of Time have awakened the Sage of Life...." The guard is fearing for his life. Rauru silently cheers. Trololf grinds his teeth.  
  
"PUT UP BARRIERS AROUND THE OTHER TEMPLES. I DON'T WANT ANY MORE MISTAKES!!!" The guard gulps, salutes, then leaves as fast as he can. Then Trololf turns his evil glare to Rauru. Rauru for his part, doesn't return it. The bars holding him in suddenly disappear. The Lizafos start to close in.  
  
"I'll do this with or without you." He says. "This world will be mine forever." Then he snaps his fingers, and the Lizafos attack!  
  
  
  
**Link, Saria, and now Lylan**  
  
  
  
"So why did you ask the Deku Tree to keep us away from here?" Saria asks Lylan. They are walking through the Lost Woods heading back to the Kokiri Village.  
  
"It was just easier that way. Besides, when I was a sage, the Deku Tree didn't have all of its power yet. There were many more monsters out here than there are now. I didn't want any of you kids getting hurt out here...or worse." Link is a bit further ahead, thinking he didn't want to listen to the 'girl talk'. ^_^ As they come around a fallen log, Link finds Tael standing there like he just ran a marathon. Saria and Lylan come up as well.  
  
"Tael, what is happening?!" Link asks. Tael looks up at him.  
  
"The...village......some weird....people.....on fire...they will destroy it.....they told me to get you....." Tael is so out of breath. Saria warps them all to the Kokiri Village. When they arrive, the whole place is ablaze. The Kokiri are all trying to escape somehow. Saria starts shouting at the top of her lungs for them all to go to the Forest Temple. Tatl comes up looking really hurt.  
  
"Tatl, what is happening?" Link asks.  
  
"The Deku Sprout is in danger....I couldn't help it...I'm so sorry.." Link takes off to the Deku meadow. When he gets there, he finds a couple of Stalfos lighting a fire near the Deku Sprout. Link quickly takes out his sword and destroys them. Then he uses Nayru's Love to shield the Deku Sprout from the blaze. He raises his sword into the air, with the tip of the blade pointing at the sun.  
  
"Please, Farore......help us......" A moment later, it starts pouring. Within a few minutes, the fires are out. When the shield wears off, Link turns to the Deku Sprout.  
  
"Are you all right?" he asks.  
  
"Yes Link. Thank you." The sprout looks worried. "Someone is mad."  
  
"Gee, ya think?" Lylan and Saria come up.  
  
"Link, is everything all right?" Saria asks. Link nods.  
  
"Are the Kokiri all right?"  
  
"A few injuries, but nothing serious." She responds. The Deku Tree Sprout looks at Lylan.  
  
"So, Sage of Life, you are back." It says.  
  
"I'm not sure it is the same as what you are thinking, but I will help them however possible." Lylan seems to think a moment. Then she turns to Link.  
  
"Hey Link, did the monsters you battled here have any kind of symbol on them?" she asks. Saria comes up with some kind of amulet.  
  
"You mean like this?" she asks. Lylan takes it a moment. Then she sighs.  
  
"It is Trololf." She says. Link sets his jaw.  
  
"Let's hurry to Hyrule Castle." He says. They start off.  
  
  
  
To be continued..... 


	8. The Sage of Rock,and Trololf is getting ...

The Secret of the Sages  
  
  
  
Disclaimer: I still don't own it. I'm poor.  
  
  
  
Darunia stands ready to fight. The Megaton Hammer is slightly above his head, ready to come crashing down on a moment's notice. The figure slowly rises out of the stone box. It seems to be moving slowly. Darunia backs up, not wanting it to get in the first shot. The figure finally stands upright. It looks like a Goron, but its back is turned to him. Slowly, it turns around. As it does, it pulls out a very familiar sword. It is a Biggoron's Sword. Darunia puts the hammer away and pulls out his own. The figure finally faces him, and they just stare at each other a moment.  
  
"I am Darunia.....Slayer of Volvagia......Hero of the Gorons....Sage of Rock in the Sacred Circle of Sages. Explain who you are and why you are here." The figure says this in complete monotone. Not bragging, but stating fact. Darunia stands up straight.  
  
"I am Darunia, Leader of the Gorons, Sage of Fire in the sacred circle of Sages." He says, matching the pattern that the other gave him. Then he thinks a moment. "You are called Darunia also?" (A/N: I know this is going to get confusing, but it sounds cooler this way)  
  
"Yes. So you are a descendant." He looks over Darunia a bit. "So, you are the next generation. Call me Dar. It will be easier." Dar looks around. "It has been a while since I have seen the outside of this prison." Darunia looks at him.  
  
"Is what is written true?" he asks. "Your Hero of Time was destroyed?" Dar looks down.  
  
"I don't think he was destroyed, but he was most certainly not alive anymore." Dar thinks a moment. "It was like his very soul was taken from him. Trololf must have done something.....but we could never find out what."  
  
"So that is why you are all sealed in here?" Darunia asks. Dar nods. For a long moment, they both just look at each other. To an onlooker, it would have been like Darunia was looking in a mirror. With the exception of a few features on the face, they look exactly alike. Dar looks up.  
  
"Are the other sages also searching for my generation?" Dar asks. Darunia nods. "Then they are all in danger."  
  
"What do you mean?" Darunia asks.  
  
"If Trololf finds out, he will set traps around. Not to mention that the Solar Sage is a little.....I guess you would say paranoid."  
  
"Will you help us? We need to defeat this evil." Dar thinks a moment, then nods.  
  
"Yes. I will help as much as I can." They both start to leave the temple.  
  
  
  
  
  
**Temple of Time**  
  
  
  
Nabooru, Sheik, Impa, and Zelda are standing in the Master Sword room. Nabooru and Impa are standing on their respective symbols, while Zelda and Sheik are in the center. They have been there for the past three hours.  
  
"Face it Zelda, something is seriously wrong." Nabooru says. Zelda nods.  
  
"I realize that, but we should still be able to get into the Temple of Light.." Zelda tries again, only to be blocked by the same force. Sheik looks at her worried.  
  
"What if something happened to Rauru?" he asks. The three girls look at him a moment. "It was just an idea......" he says. Zelda seems to think of something. She closes her eyes.  
  
  
  
///Rauru..../// she calls telepathically.  
  
///.................................../// It is silence, but she knows that Rauru can hear her.  
  
///Rauru......it's Zelda.....please.........///  
  
///Hide...........Nabooru......./// Zelda blinks at the response. But she can't connect anymore. She turns to the others.  
  
"Zelda?" Impa asks.  
  
"You were right, Sheik." Zelda says. Then she turns to Nabooru. "He says to 'hide Nabooru'." The Gerudo Sage looks like she will be in shock.  
  
"What?" she asks. "I can protect myself." Zelda starts to respond, but stops. They all listen closely.  
  
"Don't worry. They must have found something by now." The voice sounds like Link. Zelda runs out of the temple with the others in hot pursuit. When they get back to the market, they see Link, Saria, and another woman they don't recognize.  
  
"Link!" Zelda cries. Link turns around and sees her. Both groups come together.  
  
"Zelda! Have you found anything?" he asks. Saria looks up at her. Nabooru is staring at the other girl suspiciously.  
  
"Perhaps you better explain who this is." Zelda says.  
  
"This is Lylan, one of the former Sages. She is the Sage of Life." Saria explains. Nabooru relaxes, but only a little. Lylan is openly staring at her.  
  
"A GERUDO!?" She exclaims. Nabooru is about two steps from grabbing her swords. Impa steps between them.  
  
"Yes, she is a Gerudo. You are very perceptive." Impa says. Nabooru growls a bit, but backs off.  
  
"But..... Trololf is a Gerudo King...." Nabooru's eyes widen at that statement.  
  
"Wasn't there a Gerudo in your group?" Zelda asks. Lylan shakes her head.  
  
"No. There was me (Kokiri), a Goron, a River Zora, a Sheikah, a Hylian, and a Lucrien."  
  
"What's a Lucrien?" Sheik asks. Lylan looks down.  
  
"They are extinct now." She says. "They were said to live on the Moon. But, something happened, and there are no more of them now."  
  
"If they lived on the moon.....then..." Saria voices what everyone else is thinking.  
  
"No, their temple was here in Hyrule...But even I don't know where." Zelda thinks a moment. Sheik goes up to Lylan.  
  
"Can you read their language?" he asks. Lylan nods, although the question confuses her. Zelda catches on though.  
  
"Lets go back to the castle." She says. They all head over.  
  
  
  
  
  
**Poor Rauru........**  
  
  
  
The Lizafos aren't that strong, but since there are two of them, it makes things difficult. On top of that, Zelda had to choose that time for a telepathic chat. Rauru can only hope that he can't eavesdrop on that kind of speech. He finally pushes one of the creatures free, but the other is on him without missing a beat.  
  
"Well, Sage, are you ready to talk?" Trololf says. "Or should I give you another playmate......" Rauru decides to break his silence.  
  
"The Evil Realm wants you to go back." He says. (A/N: Their way of saying "go to hell") The Gerudo King just laughs.  
  
"Oh, please. That place just doesn't suit me. But Hyrule, as its supreme ruler...." He looks up, almost savoring the thought. "There is more than one way to get that. I know of your little princess." Rauru pushes the other Lizafos back. They stop attacking. He stands there, not sure why. Trololf finally looks at him. "Her hand.....no one can dispute that....when I conquer it, I will take her for my bride, whether she likes it or not. Then, not one of you can deny me." Rauru can't believe what he just heard. Maybe Nabooru isn't the one who should be hidden...... he looks up just in time to see Trololf blast a ball of dark energy at him.  
  
  
  
  
  
To be continued..... 


	9. We finally read the book,so now what?

The Secret of the Sages  
  
  
  
  
  
Disclaimer: The same as always. It's not going to change. Not in this lifetime anyway.  
  
  
  
  
  
Ruto and Reiyno have gone around the building three times. Each time, it seems to shift. They still haven't found a way in. They are back on the path that they came up on. They just stand there staring at it.  
  
"This is getting ridiculous." Ruto says. There must be a way in."  
  
"It would help if we knew what kind of person the inhabitant was." Reiyno says. "Hmmmmm..." Ruto looks at him. He seems to be getting an idea.  
  
"Care to share with the rest of us?" she asks.  
  
"What about underwater?" he says. He goes up and jumps into the river running underneath. Ruto is right behind him. They go up to where it flows into the building, only to find a grate. They examine it a moment.  
  
"Now what?" Ruto asks. Reiyno grabs onto the grate and starts pulling. It won't budge. "Tell me you honestly didn't think it would be that easy." Ruto comments. Reiyno just shakes his head.  
  
"Can't blame me for hoping." He responds. He lets go and they both try to figure out another way in. Ruto suddenly looks up.  
  
"Do you hear some kind of buzzing noise?" she asks. Reiyno listens for a moment, then nods.  
  
"Now that you mention it...." They turn around, and come face to face with 2 huge electric eels.  
  
  
  
  
  
**main group! At Hyrule Castle!**  
  
  
  
The group is in Hyrule Castle's main library. Lylan sits at one of the desks as Impa puts the book in front of her. She opens the book. After a few moments, she looks up.  
  
"This is Lucrien all right." She responds. "Most of it seems to be their history. But this part here......." she points to a page in the book, "This tells us where their temple is.....but at the same time, it doesn't."  
  
"How about in layman's terms." Nabooru says. Lylan looks up at her.  
  
"It says 'you will find the temple of the Lucrien where the sun never shines, plants flourish, and the river is always dry.' That is what it boils down to." Sheik goes over and looks at the book. Zelda sits down hard on one of the couches. Nabooru just exchanges glances with Saria. Link is determined as always.  
  
"So what kind of place is that?" Zelda finally asks.  
  
"The sun never shines, the river is always dry, yet plants flourish. That doesn't make sense!" Saria exclaims. Impa looks over at Lylan.  
  
"Do you have any idea what that could mean?" she asks. Lylan looks down.  
  
"I'm sorry." Link whistles. This is going to be harder than they thought.  
  
  
  
  
  
**Wakie, wakie Rauru!**  
  
  
  
Rauru wakes up in the middle of some field. He has no idea where he is...until he looks up and sees the Temple of Light right in front of him. He mentally chides himself, then heads inside. He has to warn everyone. He heads to the transport chamber as fast as he can.  
  
"I have to hurry......" he thinks. But then he suddenly stops. Why did he just let him go? Something is nagging at the back of his mind. But since he can't quite place it, he heads to the Temple of Time.  
  
  
  
  
  
**Zora Fight!!**  
  
  
  
Reiyno is using his fin blades to slice up the eels. Ruto is using her sage magic. Neither seems to have much effect. But they keep pounding away. The shield Ruto put up is almost worn away. They can't keep this up much longer. Ruto tries to sneak up from behind them to get a stronger hit in, but the eels seem to anticipate that move. One of them grabs her with its tail and swings her back around. Reiyno manages to catch her before she can hit the building, but ends up slamming into it himself.  
  
"Reiyno!" Ruto cries. He is getting up, but very slowly. The eels charge them again. They both brace for a huge impact, but it never comes. They look up carefully...and see both eels being shocked out of their senses. They retreat very quickly, leaving only another figure standing there. It slowly turns to the couple. It looks like a Zora, but rougher.  
  
"What are you doing here?!" She asks. Ruto looks her straight in the eye.  
  
"We are looking for the previous generation of Sages." She says. The other Zora backs up a bit.  
  
"So that's why they attacked......" Ruto looks at her.  
  
"Care to explain that comment?" Reiyno says.  
  
"I suppose I should introduce myself first......" she stands up straight. "I am Elene, Sage of the Eclipse. I am a River Zora." She looks them over a bit. "Sea Zoras too weak to use an electric barrier?" she says smiling.  
  
"That's not funny." Ruto says. "I am the Zora Princess." Elene smirks at her.  
  
"You're not my princess." She says. Ruto growls a bit. "We are out of your home. Out here, we answer to no one." She turns back to where the eels were. "I think a certain someone knows of your quest......"  
  
"And who is that 'certain someone'?" Reiyno asks. Elene presses a button on the side of the temple. The grate disappears. Elene goes in, and motions for them to follow. Ruto and Reiyno look at each other, then follow.  
  
  
  
  
  
To be continued......... 


	10. 3 out of 6

The Secret of the Sages  
  
  
  
  
  
Disclaimer: -_- quit asking me.  
  
  
  
  
  
Sheik and Nabooru stand at the Temple of Time. Zelda and Lylan are still at Hyrule Castle. Impa has gone on ahead to try to find Rauru. Which means they are on guard duty. Nabooru has one of her scimitars out and is practicing. Sheik just stands there. Then he takes out his whip and tries to disarm the Gerudo. Nabooru pulls the sword back and slices the chain whip.  
  
"Is that how you wanna play?" Nabooru says with an evil smile. Sheik just stands there.  
  
"No, I just wanted to see if you were really alert." He responds. Then he looks up and past her. Nabooru turns as well. Darunia...wait..no......TWO DARUNIAS!!!??? Nabooru is ready with her weapons, as it Sheik.  
  
"Will you two calm down." One of them says. He points to the other one. "This is Darunia, Sage of Rock of the previous sages." They both lower their weapons, but not much. The other one looks at them.  
  
"A Gerudo?! Is that really a good idea?" he says. Nabooru hisses. Why is everyone questioning her background lately?  
  
"Dar, it's OK." Darunia looks at them. "For simplicity, we have been given permission to call him Dar." Sheik nods, but Nabooru turns her back. Sheik just shrugs.  
  
"You're the second person to point out her race." Sheik explains. Darunia looks at him strangely.  
  
"What do you mean 'the second'?" Darunia asks. Sheik points in the direction of the Castle.  
  
"The Sage of Life is in Hyrule Castle with Zelda." He explains. Dar looks up.  
  
"I'm surprised you people got near her." He says. Darunia looks around.  
  
"Where's Link?" he asks.  
  
"No clue." Nabooru says. "He said he wanted to check something, but never told us what." Darunia whistles.  
  
"This isn't good..." he says. Everyone is silent for a moment. Then Nabooru looks up.  
  
"Nabooru?" Sheik asks. She just motions for him to keep quiet.  
  
"So where is she?" a female voice asks.  
  
"In the castle probably." That has to be Ruto.  
  
"Can someone please tell me what exactly is going on?" A male Zora..must be Ruto's husband. Nabooru runs out into the town proper and sees the three Zoras.  
  
"Ruto!" she shouts. The others come up behind her. Ruto turns to her.  
  
"Nabby! What's going on?" Ruto comes up to them, Reiyno and Elene behind her.  
  
"Who's this?" Sheik asks indicating Elene.  
  
"I am Elene, Sage of the Eclipse." She says with a small bow. "Hey Darunia, long time no see. Ya get buried or something?" Dar grunts.  
  
"Sure. You still have the attitude....and it's Dar now." Dar says scowling. Elene just smiles.  
  
"Whatever. So when are we seeing this princess?" she looks at Ruto. "Hope she isn't like this one......" Ruto almost slaps her upside the head, but Reiyno stops her.  
  
"You guys go on ahead. I'll wait for Impa." Nabooru tells them. They all nod, then Nabooru heads off to the Temple of Time, while the rest go to the castle.  
  
  
  
  
  
**Temple of Light**  
  
  
  
"Rauru!?" Impa walks around the cavernous Temple. This place is way to big for only one person. She has long lost track of the time, yet she has made no headway to find him. Of course, with how big this place is, she will be lucky to find herself. She turns to go down another corridor, and by pure luck finds Rauru about to head to the Temple of Time. He turns as she runs toward her.  
  
"What is it Impa?" he asks. Impa gives him a stern look.  
  
"We have been trying to contact you for a long time now. What happened?" Rauru looks around worried.  
  
"It is best if everyone hears this....." He says. They both head to the Temple of Time.  
  
  
  
  
  
**Hyrule Castle**  
  
  
  
  
  
"Hey there Lylan, it's been a while!" The former Kokiri Sage looks up as the new group comes in. Zelda looks them all over.  
  
"Not long enough Elene......" Lylan replies. Elene puts on the 'help me I'm so hurt' look.  
  
"You didn't miss me?" she says complete with fake crying. Zelda puts her hands on her hips. She is not in the mood for this.  
  
"I take it she is one of the former Sages?" she asks. Ruto nods.  
  
"River Zoras are known for their attitudes...." she responds. Elene doesn't even bother to glare at her. Darunia steps up.  
  
"Dar here is another." He says. Zelda nods in his direction.  
  
"So we have three out of six." Dar looks at them all.  
  
"Good luck finding the Lucrien Temple...." Dar says. They all look at him.  
  
"I take it you know more than I do." Lylan says. Dar nods.  
  
"I've been there." He says. Lylan turns to the book again.  
  
"So what has no sunlight, a dry river, yet plants flourish?"  
  
"The Haunted Wasteland." All eyes grow wide. "The river is sand, not water, so it is dry. The temple itself is in a cave which leads underground and under the quicksand. And Lucrien plants don't need water, only air." They all look at each other.  
  
"So we will need Nabooru for this trip." Zelda says. The three former sages look at her.  
  
"She is a Gerudo, are you sure she is trustworthy?" Elene asks.  
  
"I AM GETTING SICK OF PEOPLE QUESTIONING ME BASED SOLELY ON MY BACKGROUND!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" All eyes turn and they see Nabooru, Impa and Rauru standing in the door. Lylan stands up.  
  
"Well, this is a Gerudo King we are fighting. How do we know you will go against him?"  
  
"Well, for one thing, our King is in the fortress, most likely playing with his toys." Everyone looks at her. "What? He's only a few months old."  
  
"I still don't trust her...." Dar says to Lylan. Nabooru heard it though.  
  
"I am not trying to win a popularity contest here. I don't care if you hate me. But, as the Sage of Spirit, I have to help here." Rauru suddenly looks up.  
  
"Oh, that's right!" All eyes turn to him. "Trololf says that he is going to take over... He said he wanted to use the Gerudo Sage." Nabooru growls, but otherwise stays silent. "He also said that he was going to force Zelda into marriage so no one could dispute his claim to the throne!" Zelda backs up a bit, and then sits down hard on a chair.  
  
"That's good ol' Trololf all right...." Lylan sighs.  
  
"Then we have to hurry and find the rest." Ruto says. She looks around. "Hey...I just noticed something.....Where's Saria?"  
  
"When Link left, she followed him." Zelda says. They all gather around to form some kind of battle plan.  
  
  
  
To be continued..... 


	11. pretty place

The Secret of the Sages  
  
  
  
  
  
Disclaimer: LOOK INTO MY EYES.........YOU WON'T EVER THINK I OWN ZELDA......IF YOU DO THINK I OWN IT....YOU WILL ACT LIKE A CHICKEN FOR THREE DAYS ^_^ Sorry. I couldn't resist.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Link scales the cliffs overlooking Lake Hylia. He knows he is acting solely on a hunch, but it is a strong one. He takes a moment to get his bearings.....and sees Saria on top of the wall already.  
  
"Why didn't you just do it the easy way?" she asks. As she is saying this, a nearby tree puts its branches under Link and pushes him the rest of the way up. Link sits there glaring at Saria.  
  
"What are you doing here?!" he finally asks.  
  
"What, did you actually think I was going to let you do this alone?" she asks. "So where are we going?" Link looks over the wall, and finds exactly what he was looking for. It looks like a crystal palace surrounded by its own lake. The sunlight reflects off of it and forms many rainbows. Saria follows his gaze and also sees it. She gasps.  
  
"That's where." Link says. "It has to be one of the temples." They head down on the other side (actually, Saria climbs down, Link decides to show off and jump). When they are both down, they head over to the building and try to figure out how to get in.  
  
  
  
  
  
**Happy time!**  
  
  
  
  
  
"SHE'S A GERUDO!" Elene says yet again. Nabooru is forcing herself not to kill her. And it isn't coming easy. Zelda growls.  
  
"She may be a Gerudo but she is also the Sage of Spirit. Now, I don't think the Goddesses would have chosen her for this unless she was trustworthy. SO I DON'T WANT TO HEAR ANOTHER WORD ABOUT IT!!! UNDERSTAND???!!!" Everyone's eyes go wide. Zelda never yells. Nabooru is ready to die from shock. She and Zelda usually don't get along, yet Zelda....ZELDA is the one defending her. When everyone gets over themselves, they start talking seriously.  
  
"We have three more temples...." Ruto says.  
  
"No, two. Link says he knows where one is, that is why he left. So we have to figure out where the rest of them are."  
  
"Well, we know where one is..."Dar says. He can't help but glare at Nabooru. For her part, she doesn't rise to the bait.  
  
"Nabooru, could you go check for the Lucrien Temple?" Zelda asks.  
  
"Sure, as soon as you tell me where it is." She replies. Dar is still glaring at her.  
  
"May I go with her?" he says. Nabooru looks straight ahead. Zelda thinks a moment.  
  
"Yes, that would probably be a good idea. Darunia, you also." Zelda gives the stern look that says you are going whether you like it or not. Darunia nods. "Now, about the other one..."  
  
"I know there is something by Lake Hylia!" Ruto shouts.  
  
"That's where Link is, and most likely Saria." Zelda replies calmly. "But we still need to figure out where the other one is.." Everyone is silent. Then Rauru looks up.  
  
"What races are we missing? Besides the Lucrien." He asks.  
  
"Let's see....Hylian, and Sheikan." Zelda responds. Rauru turns to Impa and Sheik.  
  
"Well?" He asks them.  
  
Impa looks at him. Then she seems to think of something. "There are some ruins near an old settlement of ours....it has been abandoned for centuries..maybe it could hold a clue.."  
  
"Impa, Sheik, that is your job. The rest of us will try to come up with some kind of defense plan should Trololf appear before everyone gathers." They all nod, then disperse.  
  
  
  
  
  
Yeah, it's kinda short. It's too hot for me to think...... 


	12. One new sage,but we lose one too

The Secret of the Sages  
  
  
  
Disclaimer: What do you think, honestly?  
  
  
  
A/N: Congratulations to "Too lazy to sign in" who decided to point out that Sheik and Zelda are the same person!! I do know that, so does everyone else in this category, but I have yet to see anyone who actually cares. You can do so much more if they are separate.  
  
  
  
Nabooru, Dar and Darunia enter the Haunted Wasteland. Nabooru uses her Sage powers to bring them across the River of Sand. Once across, Dar takes the lead. After about an hour of searching, they still haven't found anything.  
  
"Are you sure you know where you are going?" Nabooru asks. Dar doesn't look back at her.  
  
"Yes I know where I am going." He says. Nabooru just sighs. Darunia decides to stay out of it. Finally, they come on a cave. Dar goes in first, then Nabooru and Darunia follow him. For a while, it is a downhill walk in almost complete darkness. Then gradually they start to see a glow. As they get deeper, the glow gets more intense until it is able to completely light the whole place up. Nabooru looks along the walls. It is the plants growing here that are giving off that glow. She takes a closer look. They look like flowers.  
  
"Wow...."Nabooru isn't easily impressed.  
  
"This is amazing." Darunia says. Dar doesn't seem like he really cares though. He says he has been down here before....so maybe he has already seen all this. Nabooru gets up from her inspection, then looks ahead. In front of them is a huge building. It must be the Lucrien Temple.  
  
"So this must be it." Nabooru says. Dar nods.  
  
"Heh, heh, heh... so, the Gerudo Sage has appeared..." The three of them try to find the origin of the voice. But while they are looking, something else happens.  
  
"HEY!" Nabooru shouts. Dar and Darunia turn just in time to see her become trapped in a crystal. She draws her scimitar and tries to hack her way free.  
  
"Trololf!!" Dar shouts. The male Gerudo appears in front of them.  
  
"Well, it certainly has been a long time, hasn't it?" Trololf says. "How are you all?" Dar isn't impressed. Darunia is now using a Megaton Hammer on the crystal, and it isn't doing anything.  
  
"Release her NOW!" Dar shouts. Trololf just shakes his head.  
  
"Oh dear, now, you simply must get a hold of that temper. It will do you no good." He smiles. "Now that I have the Gerudo Sage, my plans can truly begin!" He disappears, and so does the crystal with Nabooru. The two Gorons look at each other.  
  
"Zelda's going to be pissed....."Darunia says. Dar heads to the temple.  
  
"All the more reason for us to hurry." He replies. They both head into the temple.  
  
  
  
  
  
**Back with Link and Saria**  
  
  
  
"This place is pretty." Saria remarks. Link nods. They are standing at the edge of the lake. There is no bridge, and the water seems...well, just not like water.  
  
"There has to be a way in...."Link says. Saria thinks for a bit.  
  
"ANYONE HOME???!!!" She shouts. Link looks at her.  
  
"Yeah, like that's going to work." Link frowns, then looks down.  
  
"What do you want here?" Link looks up, and Saria is looking smug. (Sorry, I just wanted to make Link look a bit dumb.) On one of the towers of the Temple, is a person. From here, they can't make out what kind of person though.  
  
"We need to speak to the Sage!" Saria shouts back. The person up there is silent for a moment.  
  
"Who are you to ask?!"  
  
"I am Saria, Sage of the Forest." Saria seems to be getting nervous. Then, the person up there does something completely unexpected. He climbs up on the tower.............and jumps down. Saria lets out a shriek. Link starts looking for where he will land. The person then makes a perfect 3- point landing right in front of them.  
  
"Was that really necessary?" Link asks.  
  
"Doors are overrated." He says. He looks Link over. "So you are the new Hero of Time? Having fun yet?"  
  
"Oh yeah, loads." Link replies. "So what's your name? Or do we just say 'hey you'?"  
  
"Sorry. My name is Hilron. I am the Solar Sage. So what brings you guys here?"  
  
"Does the name 'Trololf' sound familiar to you?" Link asks. Hilron's face clouds over.  
  
"Yeah.....he destroyed our Hero of Time." Hilron is acting like it is all his fault.  
  
"Well, he escaped, and we need help to defeat him...we were told you and the other former sages could help us." Hilron thinks a moment.  
  
"Have you even met the others?" he asks.  
  
"Well, we have met Lylan...." Saria says. Then she seems to think a moment. "Hey, you know....Dar told us you were paranoid."  
  
"You haven't seen the inside of this temple yet. I knew you were coming for a few hours now." Link and Saria sweatdrop. Hilron just smiles.  
  
"I'm not asking....." Link says.  
  
"How do you get in there anyway?" Saria asks.  
  
"Sorry, that's a secret. Can't tell ya." Hilron starts to walk away. "Well, are we going or not?" They all start to head off to Hyrule Castle.  
  
  
  
  
  
**Let's check in on Sheik and Impa, shall we?**  
  
  
  
  
  
"It's getting hot..." Sheik complains. They have reached the ruins they were looking for, and have been searching them. Impa doesn't even look up at him.  
  
"Maybe if you take some of those bandages off...." Impa lets the statement hang. Sheik gets mad.  
  
"Do I tell you how to dress?!" he shouts. Impa just sighs, then goes back to searching. Then she suddenly looks up.  
  
"What..." she whispers. Sheik heard her anyway.  
  
"What's wrong?" he asks. Impa shakes her head.  
  
"I am not sure...it felt like one of our sages just...disappeared." Sheik looks at her worried.  
  
"Let's hurry and find this temple." He says. It doesn't take them much longer to find it. Or rather....what's left of it. The temple is nothing but ruins. Impa carefully goes in. Sheik goes around the outside. There is pretty much nothing left. After they search a bit more, they both meet up near the front.  
  
"Anything?" Sheik asks. Impa shakes her head.  
  
"Not even a clue." She says. This isn't good.  
  
"So now what?"  
  
"We have to report to Zelda." They teleport back to Hyrule Castle.  
  
  
  
To be continued..... 


	13. An interesting half escape,and the Lucri...

The Secret of the Sages  
  
  
  
  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own it. WWWWWWWWWWWWWWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! K, I'm done now. ^_^  
  
  
  
A/N: Deku Scrub: I thought it was every 100, not thousand........  
  
  
  
  
  
Nabooru is still struggling against the crystal. She has tried all of her weapons, and her own fists. Nothing. Not even a scratch. Trololf just looks at her smiling.  
  
"Well, it is good to see that you have some fight in you." He says. Nabooru glares at him. "Don't worry, you will be free soon enough......and helping me."  
  
"Over my dead body." Nabooru replies. Trololf just shakes his head.  
  
"Oh yes.....don't worry, I have my ways..." He leaves the room. Nabooru sighs and sits on the bottom of the crystal. She knows that there must be some way....  
  
"Don't bother racking your brain. He seems to have thought of everything." Nabooru looks around for the source of the voice, then finally finds it right in front of her. Another crystal, this time encasing someone else. She is really tall, maybe a half a foot taller than Nabooru herself, and has the Sheikan symbol on her clothes.  
  
"Who are you?" Nabooru asks.  
  
"Oloken. Sage of Sky. Well, I used to be a Sage anyway." She turns her gaze upward. "This has been my prison for almost a month now." Nabooru looks at her.  
  
"Your....prison....How did he catch you?" Nabooru blurts out. Oloken sighs.  
  
"My temple is in ruins. It has been for a few centuries. It wasn't much of a task if they could find it. My powers are not exactly strong." Nabooru thinks. If she can get them both out......  
  
"There must be some way out of here. No one can ever think of everything.." Nabooru looks around. The crystals are suspended, so they can't just roll them somewhere. Then Nabooru gets a really evil smile. Oloken actually backs up.  
  
"What are you planning....." she asks. Nabooru pulls out one of her hairpins. Oloken relaxes. "You're kidding, right?" Nabooru gives the crystal a solid jab, and watches it create a nice new doorway. It didn't shatter the whole thing, but enough to get out of. She reaches across and does the same with Oloken's crystal. Within moments, they are both on the floor. Oloken's eyes are wide.  
  
"What?" Nabooru starts to head to the door. Oloken follows.  
  
"I can't believe that worked...." she says. Nabooru grins, then opens the door. Then.....both Sages back up. Blocking the way...are countless Stalfos. And they are coming in after them.  
  
  
  
**Hyrule Castle**  
  
  
  
"Impa! Sheik!" Zelda cries. The two Sheikahs come in looking worn. And not happy.  
  
"Let me guess.." Elene says, "Little Miss 'I'm Sheikan and better than you' wasn't there." Almost everyone glares at the River Zora. Ruto once again tries to smack her, but is stopped by Reiyno. Impa turns to Zelda.  
  
"The temple is in ruins, and there is no sign of the Sage. We're sorry Zelda." Zelda frowns. This isn't good.  
  
"So now what?" Ruto asks. Zelda stands up.  
  
"We wait for the other two groups....."she trails off as she sees Link come in. "LINK! Tell me you have some good news." Link splits a grin. Then behind him, Saria comes in, and another person.  
  
"We do. This is Hilron, the Solar Sage." Link says. Hilron gives a small bow, and then a crooked grin toward Elene. Impa groans. Everyone can sense rivalry.  
  
"Pleased to meet you all." Hilron says. He looks around. "This it?" Zelda shakes her head.  
  
"No, we have another search party out at the Lucrien Temple." Hilron whistles. "What?"  
  
"Good luck. That race is extinct." Hilron says. Zelda grits her teeth.  
  
"We have to try." Saria says. Sheik nods.  
  
"In the meantime, how are the plans coming?" They all lean over the table as Zelda goes over the battle plans.  
  
  
  
  
  
**Lucrien Temple**  
  
  
  
"Hello!!!" Darunia shouts. Dar just glances at him.  
  
"You don't honestly think that will work, do you?" he asks.  
  
"Can't hurt." Darunia replies. The inside of the temple has more of the plants they found outside. They are literally everywhere. It looks like this place has been abandoned for a long time for them to have taken over like this. Darunia clears some away, and finds stairs.  
  
"Hey Dar..." he calls. Dar comes over and looks. They both head down. When they get there, they can see what is clearly an altar. All around the room are pictures of the different phases of the moon. But on the altar itself, is some kind of ball. Darunia, of course, picks it up. The whole room starts to glow, and then turns completely black. When the light returns to normal, a figure is standing there. It looks like a cross of every race in Hyrule. It also seems like it is really ragged.  
  
"Who........there....." it says. It seems like it is having difficulty with the language. Dar steps up.  
  
"Hey there Tyrn." He says. The Lucrien looks at him.  
  
"Darunia......long......time....." Dar nods.  
  
"I'm just called Dar now." He indicates Darunia. "This is Darunia of the new Sages. They need our help. Can you come?" He thinks a moment.  
  
"Help?...........How........powers..........gone......"  
  
"Tyrn, they need our knowledge. Trololf has come back.....and he took one of their Sages." That makes Tyrn look up.  
  
"Gerudo.........sage.......danger......Trololf.." it says. Tyrn thinks a moment. "I........help.....where....others.....?"  
  
"Hyrule Castle. Let's go." They all head off.  
  
"Dar...what is he?" Darunia whispers.  
  
"I.......hear........you......question....."Tyrn has very good hearing. "I........Lucrien......of moon...."  
  
"His real name cannot be pronounced by us, so he shortened it so we can address him." Dar explains. "There are no genders in Lucrien, which makes it more difficult for him to get our language. That is why he talks so slow." Darunia nods.  
  
"Well.........must.........hurry......" As they reach the exit, Darunia can't help but look at the place where Nabooru was kidnapped.  
  
"Hope she's all right....." He whispers.  
  
  
  
  
  
To be continued...... 


	14. Escape

The Secret of the Sages  
  
  
  
  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Zelda  
  
  
  
  
  
Nabooru and Oloken step back as the Stalfos advance. Neither seems to have any idea of what to do. Nabooru pulls out her scimitars, then looks a bit surprised. She didn't expect them to still be there. Apparently, Trololf is pretty confident of himself. Oloken notices her expression.  
  
"Yeah, he's kinda cocky. But he is still dangerous." She says. Nabooru just nods. Oloken pulls out a long sword. They both get into a ready position.  
  
"I guess we have to fight our way out...." Nabooru comments. Oloken nods.  
  
"Don't wear yourself out too early.....this could take a while...." Oloken joins Nabooru in the charge.  
  
  
  
**Back with the Gorons and the Lucrien**  
  
  
  
The group is almost at the castle. Actually, they are entering the market. Tyrn has drawn his cloak so he can't be seen by anyone. Darunia looks confused at that move.  
  
"I don't see the point of that....."he says.  
  
"People.............not.........familiar.....Lucrien.......gone........from. ......world......" Tyrn says. Darunia nods. Dar looks up ahead.  
  
"Hey Darunia, will they let us in?" He asks. Darunia thinks a moment.  
  
"I see what you mean." He says. He decides to do the next best thing. They all enter the Temple of Time. When they enter, they see Impa standing there.  
  
"Who may I ask is this?" She asks pointing to Tyrn.  
  
"Hopefully the last of the Former Sages." Darunia responds. Impa just looks down.  
  
"Sorry, still one more to go....." Impa looks like she is taking it personally. Dar steps up.  
  
"What happened?" He asks.  
  
"The temple is in ruins, and there was no sign of the Sage...." The group looks at each other. This isn't good.  
  
"Sheikan...........sage..........with........Gerudo.........sage......"Tyrn says. Everyone turns to....it? Impa scowls.  
  
"That can't be good....wasn't Nabooru with you?"  
  
"Yeah......but Trololf is faster than we were..." Dar says.  
  
"Apparently, faster than Nabooru as well...." Darunia adds.  
  
"So now we have to find the both of them." Impa shakes her head. "Come on, I'll take you to the Princess..." They teleport to the castle.  
  
  
  
**Back with Nabooru and Oloken**  
  
  
  
Half of the Stalfos are in pieces, while the other half seem to be running for their lives. A royally pissed off Gerudo is one thing to run from, but even that is nothing compared to a royally pissed off Sheikan. The whole door is wide open, but standing in the center of it is Trololf himself. He is actually smiling?! Both Sages get into battle stance. Trololf just stares at them.  
  
"Well, I must stay that was impressive." He says. Neither side moves. A minute passes, but for Nabooru and Oloken, it feels like eternity. Then, Trololf starts laughing.  
  
"You won't laugh when I shove my scimitar up your.." Nabooru threatens.  
  
"Oh, don't worry, soon you will be with me!" He throws out an energy ball and hits Nabooru right in the heart.  
  
"Oloken.....get out of here.....find Princess Zelda." Nabooru says. Oloken hesitates. "DO IT!" Nabooru practially yells at her. Oloken takes off quickly. Since Trololf is distracted taking care of Nabooru, she is able to make it out easily. But Nabooru isn't so lucky. After Oloken is gone, Trololf raises her in the air, then slamms her down hard. He then hovers a magic orb over her body. After a moment, it starts to glow an extrememly dark shade of black.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
To be continued...... 


	15. Almost everyone together,poor Nabooru

The Secret of the Sages  
  
  
  
Disclaimer: I still don't own it.  
  
  
  
  
  
Oloken runs as hard as she can. At the moment she is completely lost, but that doesn't even slow her down one bit. Her only hope to save the Sage who saved her is to get the others. She trips over a rock and ends up face first on the ground. She gets up quickly and looks around. She has been running for over 12 hours.  
  
"I can't give up yet...I have to keep going....but which way..." she looks around again. Nothing is familiar. "A few centuries and the whole place changes." She mutters. Then she takes off again.  
  
  
  
**In Hyrule Castle**  
  
  
  
The group is trying to figure out how to go about rescuing their comrades. Link is actually smirking. Zelda notices it and frowns.  
  
"All right, what's so funny?" she says.  
  
"Sorry Zel, I just can't help thinking about what Nabooru would think if she knew about this." Zelda just shakes her head.  
  
"Dar, any ideas on where he could be holding them?" Impa asks. Dar just shakes his head. Impa looks around at the others. They all have the same expression.  
  
"We have to think of something....." Saria says.  
  
"We will. But first..." Zelda is interrupted by a guard coming in the door.  
  
"I'm sorry to bother you Princess...but this woman insists that she must see you." Zelda is puzzled.  
  
"Who is it?" she asks. The guard just shrugs.  
  
"She said that if you asked, to tell you 'Nabooru sent me here'." He replies. The entire room just sits there in shock for a moment. Zelda finally snaps out of it. "Send her in." she says. The guard leaves, and after a moment, a very worn and beat-up Oloken comes in. Almost everyone is on their feet. The guard re-appears behind her.  
  
"We found her on the far side of Lon Lon Ranch. When we talked to her, all she said was that 'Nabooru told her to find Zelda'." The guard seems just as confused as the rest of the group. Dar gets up and helps Oloken to one of the chairs. She is completely exhausted. Zelda motions for the guard to leave. Impa and Sheik seems transfixed by what they see. Saria goes up to her.  
  
"Are you all right?" she asks. Oloken is silent for a moment, then finally seems to focus.  
  
"Zelda?" she asks. Impa looks at Zelda.  
  
"We should let her rest Your Highness." She says. Zelda nods.  
  
"I know, but if Nabooru sent her, then she knows where Nabooru is. We need that information." Zelda steps up in front of Oloken. "I am Zelda." Oloken looks at her.  
  
"Proof." She says. Zelda just frowns.  
  
"Anything in mind?" she asks.  
  
"Nabooru said Princess Zelda holds the Triforce of Wisdom." Zelda nods, then shows Oloken her left hand. The Triforce mark on it is there, and the Wisdom Triforce is glowing stronger than the other two. Oloken looks a moment, then nods.  
  
"Satisfied?" Zelda asks. Oloken nods. She knows that that particular mark cannot be faked.  
  
"Yes. I'm sorry to seem distrusting, but I never laid eyes on any of the royal family before." She looks down.  
  
"So where's Nabooru?" Link asks.  
  
"Trololf has her." Oloken replies.  
  
"You mean you let her have the Sage while you got free?!" Elene shouts.  
  
"She told me to leave and find Princess Zelda. When I tried to stop and help her, she said that it was more important that I got here." Zelda frowns. This isn't good.  
  
"Well, she can take care of herself, right?" Lylan asks. The current sages look at each other. None of them want to mention how Twinrova caught her before she awakened as a Sage.  
  
"Sorry to break this up, but...."Reiyno looks over at them from his seat at the window. "Was that there before?" Everyone minus Oloken goes over to the window. A huge palace seems to be suspended in the sky. It is completely black. Storm clouds seem to be coming from it. All in all, a truly evil place. Everyone just stares a moment.  
  
"Anyone want to bet that Trololf is holding Nabooru in there?" Link asks. No one speaks.  
  
  
  
  
  
**Trololf's lair**  
  
  
  
  
  
Nabooru is unconscious on the floor. The orb above her is a really evil black. Trololf just stands there watching. Slowly the orb starts to rise. After it is a few feet above where the cages were, it goes off to the side and lands on an altar. Trololf walks over to where Nabooru is lying.  
  
"My dear Gerudo, you don't know how much you are going to help me." He smiles. "I know that you helped that Sheikah get away, but don't worry. You see, she was bait all along." He stands up straight. "Although....I was expecting to catch the Sheikan Sage......but catching you is such a bonus! Now I don't have to hunt you down!" He uses magic to lift Nabooru into the air and places her body in front of the altar.  
  
"Master...." Trololf looks over at a Stalfos which has just come in the room. "Preparations for stage one are complete. Awaiting your orders." Trololf smiles again.  
  
"Perfect. We are on schedule?"  
  
"Yes Master."  
  
"The set up the traps for phase two. I want everything ready by dawn." The Stalfos bows then leaves. Trololf turns his attention back to Nabooru.  
  
"While I have your life energy, they can't touch you. If they can't get you, they don't have anywhere near enough power to harm me. Then I will conquer the world. Zelda will be my bride, but I can't let my noble blood be mixed with a Hylian." He says 'Hylian' like it is the worst of swear words. "You, however, will give me a beautiful child. A son..... And I will have my heir. Of course, since I have to marry Zelda for my claim to the throne....something will have to be done about that....." A really evil smile forms on his face. "But don't worry. It will be glorious." He checks his time piece, then heads out the door, leaving Nabooru and the orb in the hands of his guards.  
  
  
  
  
  
"The time is finally coming.........."  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
To be continued.. 


	16. The Gerudos are on the defensive WH...

The Secret of the Sages  
  
  
  
Disclaimer: The usual.  
  
  
  
Random Thought-O-Meter: I hate 12-hour shifts....... (*^_^*) Look! I made a smilie with pigtails!! (don't ask)  
  
  
  
  
  
///Ugh.....where am I?/// Nabooru sort of regains consciousness. Somehow she is able to see. Then she looks down. At her own body lying in front of her. For a moment, she is frozen in shock. Then slowly dawning comes to her. Her spirit has been separated from her body.  
  
///You have got to be kidding me../// she thinks. She looks around the room. Black, black, oh, that wall is red! Black, more black....someone needs a new decorator. She finds herself drawn again and again to her own body lying there helpless. ///There must be some way..../// She looks up at the red wall. All of the walls seem completely solid. But the red one actually moves itself to let Trololf in. He stands in front of her.  
  
"So how are you feeling my dear?" He tries to act like he is the perfect gentleman. Nabooru resists the urge, no matter how futile, to spit on him. Trololf just grins. "I'm sure you probably hate me, but you realize, I have a world to take over, and I need a son to make sure that my line continues." Nabooru suddenly has a horrible realization. The only way a new male can be born to the Gerudo......is if the one alive now dies. Tallert is only a couple of years old. Can the Gerudo protect him?  
  
///They have to.../// Nabooru's opinion of Trololf has just gone through the floor and to the other side of the world.  
  
"I see you realize the problem. I can't just adopt, even though he is very young. He has already been with the other Gerudos, and I can't let the memories of that surface. Once I find him, he will die. I hate to have to do it, but one does what one must." He tries to act like he is the perfect person, and knows what is best for everyone. Nabob seethes.  
  
///I will stop you......somehow.....some way....../// Nabooru vows.  
  
"Well, then, I shall leave you to you're quiet contemplation. In the meantime, I should prepare for your friends. They are coming to get you, do you realize that?" Trololf smiles, then leaves the way he came in. Nabooru is once again alone to seethe, and plan.  
  
  
  
  
  
**Somewhere in Hyrule Field**  
  
  
  
"This is pointless. It seems like we aren't getting anywhere closer to that thing." Link says. The entire group has been walking for almost three days now. The floating palace is no closer than it was when they started. It is almost like it is moving with them.  
  
"We can't just give up." Zelda reminds him. "Nabooru is one of us. And...hey, what's going on over there?" Zelda points in the direction of Gerudo Valley. The Gerudos have fortified the area to the point of obsession. Curious, the group goes over to find out what has happened.  
  
"Excuse me," Impa walks up to the one who seems to be in charge. "What is happening?" The woman warrior gives her a surly look, then seems to relax a bit.  
  
"Oh, a Sheikah." She says. "What do you need?"  
  
"Information. What is going on? Why the sudden defensive?" The Gerudo looks around, the points to the floating palace.  
  
"Trololf. If he has come back, our king is in danger." She seems nervous. That is a rare trait in the Gerudo, and if a Gerudo is nervous, something bad is definitely happening. "He may try to kill the king. He is still a child, he can't defend his position yet."  
  
"I see. Is there someone who can tell us about this Trololf? We need that information." The guard looks at Impa for a moment.  
  
"Give me one reason I should let you see one of our scribes." She says. Oloken steps forward.  
  
"Does the name 'Nabooru' mean anything to you?" The guard's eyes go wide.  
  
"Nabooru........he has her.....doesn't he.." Impa nods.  
  
"At the moment, yes. That is why we need the information." The guard thinks a moment.  
  
"Fine, but you will be supervised." Impa nods.  
  
"Agreed. And thank you." Another guard leads the group inside the fortress.  
  
  
  
To be continued........  
  
Sorry if this is a bit short. I am having problems with everybody's friend, Mr. Writer's Block. -_- 


	17. Chatting with the former Hero of Time

The Secret of the Sages  
  
  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own it. So :P.  
  
  
  
Nabooru thinks. There really isn't much else she can do. She stares at the walls, and occasionally, at her own lifeless body. //I'm a Sage, damn it. Why couldn't I prevent this?// She yells at herself.  
  
//The same reason I couldn't.// Nabooru would have jumped to the sun and back if she were still in her own body. She searches the room for the voice, only to realize that whoever was speaking was in the same condition she was.  
  
//Who are you?// Nabooru asks.  
  
//Link, the Hero of Time.// Nabooru suddenly gets suspicious.  
  
//Link, huh....Who is the Sage of Forest?// Nabooru asks.  
  
//What are you talking about? There is no Forest Sage...// Comes the reply. For a moment, both are silent. Then, "Link" asks the question that Nabooru would never have guessed. //What year is it?//  
  
//What?// Nabooru can't believe her ears.  
  
//Please, that will clear up this confusion we seem to have.// Nabooru thinks a moment. Then she decides that there can't possibly be any harm.  
  
//It is the Year of Nayru 2419.// she says.  
  
//Almost 3 millennia.// Link says. //I am Link, you must also have a Hero of Time called Link. He would be a descendant of mine.// Nabooru tries to search for words. Somehow, she always found just the right thing to say to someone when they first met. Sometimes it led to war, but to her it was right. But now, she is having trouble. She instinctively goes back to staring at herself.  
  
//There must be a way...//she thinks.  
  
//Telepathy is annoying, isn't it.// Link's voice comes to her. She just groans. //Yeah, yeah, I know. I'm a smart alek. Blame Oloken.//  
  
//Why am I blaming her? She seemed nice enough.// Nabooru asks.  
  
//Oh, she did lighten up? She was always Ms. Serious about everything. I don't think she smiled once.// Sounds like Impa..  
  
//Did you decide to come here just to chat?// Nabooru asks. She can practically see the smirk on Link's face.  
  
//Actually, when I first sensed you here, I was wondering what was going on. I never thought he would imprison a Gerudo. So what does he want with you?//  
  
//I'm the Sage of Spirit.// she says.  
  
//They lost their powers.......// Link acts like he should die for that happening. Nabooru never liked people with that attitude.  
  
//If you're thinking of just dying, don't. There are more important things to worry about.// This seems to snap him back to reality.  
  
//You're right. So.....any ideas?// Nabooru just sighs. This is going to take a while.  
  
  
  
  
  
**Gerudo Fortress, Main Sanctuary**  
  
  
  
"In here." The Gerudo guard led the party into a chamber deep in the fortress. However, they were very clever about bringing them in. They are all lost, and could never find their way out on their own. The guard takes up station at the door. "The Scribe will be here shortly." They all sit on the divans around the room.  
  
"MY TOY!" Kids are kids everywhere. But.....that sound was male..The group sends a collective questioning look to the guard. She just shrugs.  
  
"King Tallert. He has been trying to "play" with some of the swords lately." Saria gulps. The rest of them just exchange worried glances. After a few more moments of waiting, another Gerudo appears. But she is dressed entirely different from normal Gerudos. A sweeping skirt flows from her waist, and a loose blouse adorned with the sacred symbols of Gerudo covers her top. Her hair is not tied back, but allowed to be free. It fell almost to her feet. A glittering bracelet is on her wrist. And under her arm is an ABSOFRICKENLY HUGE book. The weight alone must keep her in shape.  
  
"Welcome." She says in a light voice. She approaches Zelda. "You are Princess Zelda, correct?" Zelda nods. "Please relax. I have been instructed to give you any information you need for your journey." Saria is staring with wide eyes.  
  
"How come you aren't dressed like every other Gerudo?" she asks. Link quickly puts his hand over her mouth, but about a second too late. The scribe just laughs.  
  
"It is only Mages and Warriors whom dress like that. It gives them more freedom in movement. As a scribe, and priestess, I dress a bit more... ceremonial I guess you would say." She sits on the chair at the far end of the room, and rests the book on the table next to it. "I'm sorry there isn't much to this room, but we can't allow outsiders into our sacred chambers."  
  
"That is quite all right." Zelda says. "We will try not to stay long." The scribe nods.  
  
"Well, what is the information you require?" she says.  
  
"We need to know about the Gerudo King, Trololf." Impa says. The scribe looks down.  
  
"A most evil chapter in Gerudo history." She says. Then she looks back up. "Anything specific?"  
  
"We don't really know about him at all....but we believe he is back. He has taken a dear friend of ours."  
  
"We have already heard of Nabooru's capture by him." The scribe says. "Let me start where I can." She opens the book, near the beginning. After flipping a few pages, she seems to find it. "Trololf, the Second King of Gerudo, born on the 23rd month of Din's Year 198. This may take a while, so please make yourselves comfortable." The group adjusts, and the scribe begins.  
  
  
  
  
  
**4 hours later**  
  
  
  
"And that is the last we heard from him." The scribe finishes. Sheik tries desperately to work the kinks out of his back. Four hours....FOUR! This guy didn't quit. And the power.....how did he get it? It wasn't from the Triforce. Zelda stands up.  
  
"Is there any record of what happened to the Hero of Time?" she asks. The scribe searches the pages for a moment.  
  
"Only of his wife and child. A daughter I believe he had. Too bad he never got to see her." Everyone thinks a bit.  
  
"Just out of curiosity, who was his successor?" Dar asks. The scribe looks up. Then at the guard. The guard just nods.  
  
"King Gannondorf Eletnredl." She says. Gasps are heard all around the room. "He was one of the best kings we were ever to have. Also one of the strongest. It was him who managed to get everyone together and back as a people after the chaos Trololf left us in." Everyone stands. The scribe does as well.  
  
"Thank you for your help." Oloken says.  
  
"Please, defeat him. We will all die for our king, but Trololf will not hesitate to use that kind of force. You must act quickly." The scribe leaves the room, and the guard brings them back to the entrance. One of the mages meets them there.  
  
"We should help you. Please bring back Nabooru." She says. Then she hands them an amulet with the Spirit symbol on it. Zelda takes it. "This will give you the powers of the desert sandstorms. If you need to hide, or escape, use it. It will help." They thank her, then try once again to reach the floating castle.  
  
  
  
  
  
**back with the old Link and Nabooru**  
  
  
  
  
  
//You realize this is getting us nowhere.// Nabooru finally says.  
  
//You have a better idea?// Link says back.  
  
//Actually, yes. How did you get here?// She can almost hear the shock.  
  
//I'm in the Dark Realm. So are you.// Nabooru isn't impressed.  
  
//So I'm stuck in the Evil Realm..//  
  
//DARK Realm. There is a difference.// Link says. //OK, let's try it this way. Picture the Haunted Wasteland. Only there are bodies everywhere. Gerudo, Hylian, Sheikan, a few Zora and Goron around too.// Nabooru actually tries not to, but Link starts painting a really vividly picture and she can't help it. After a moment, the room seems to dissolve. In front of her is the battlefield Link has described. Nabooru looks around. Then she spots a young man coming toward her. He looks to be in his early twenties, and has a muscular build. His tunic is ripped and torn, and he has a shield on his arm. He smiles at Nabooru.  
  
"Gruesome, huh." He says. Nabooru can't believe that he could be so casual about it. "This is the Dark Realm. The worst memory you have, you are forced to relive it for eternity. Or until you escape, if that is even possible."  
  
"I take it you're Link?" she says. He just nods.  
  
"I never thought I would see a Gerudo Sage." He says. Nabooru resists the urge to deck him. Although, she realizes, if it was her Link, the one she knew, he would be on the ground by now. "I wonder why the others aren't Sages anymore.."  
  
"Because you disappeared." Nabooru tells him. "They told us you died to seal Trololf in here." Link's eyes go wide.  
  
"The dirty....." he can't even say the curse. When he calms down, he explains. "He grabbed the Master Sword. Which instantly killed him, but he also grabbed me. When he was banished to the Evil Realm, the magic also pulled me in. But since I don't have the evil heart Trololf does, I ended up here." So it wasn't their fault....  
  
"Well, why don't you help me get out of here, then we both leave, and you can tell them that they didn't do anything wrong." Nabooru looks at him waiting for an answer.  
  
"I've got nothing to lose..." he says. They start planning.  
  
  
  
  
  
To be continued....... 


	18. A barrier, just what we need

The Secret of the Sages  
  
  
  
Disclaimer: What do you think.  
  
  
  
"We listened to four hours of that, and we still didn't learn any weaknesses." Link complains. The group is still trying to reach the floating castle where they are sure Trololf is. Impa groans.  
  
"Perhaps not, but that may be that they don't know either. Otherwise, I doubt they would have let him get the kind of power he acquired." She responds. Link throws an icy glare at the Sheikah. The rest of the group just groans.  
  
"Link, calm down already." Zelda says. Link seems to decide on a new target.  
  
"You should be at the castle, not risking your life here." He says. Zelda gets the "Sarcasm coming" look.  
  
"Oh yes Link, I should be at the castle where Trololf will easily be able to get me and force me into marriage so he can have a legal recourse to call himself king and most likely kill me." Zelda somehow manages to say it with a straight face. Saria looks like she is trying not to explode. The former sages just give wan smiles, except Elene who is loving it. Link finally backs down.  
  
"Fine, you made your point." He says. "So how do we get this place to stop moving?" Sheik walks up a bit further. It looks like he is checking out the...air?  
  
"I have a better question." He says. He throws a huge punch...and hits some kind of barrier. "How do we get through this?" The group goes over and checks where Sheik punched. Then they all start testing it.  
  
  
  
  
  
**That's going to get boring, so let's see how the other side is doing!**  
  
  
  
  
  
Trololf sits in his main room of the floating castle. This place would make a King jealous. A blood red carpet covers the floor, and disappears finally under midnight black walls. The ceiling shows a map of the realm of Hyrule. In one wall is a fireplace, and it is going at full blaze. There is little furniture in the room, one table against a wall, and a high backed chair in front of the fireplace.  
  
"Ah, this is what I long for. Soon, I will be ruler, and I will have more." He says. He is interrupted by one of his minions coming in. A Moblin comes in and bows.  
  
"Forgive my intrusion..." it says. Trololf sighs.  
  
"What is it?" he says.  
  
"The Gerudo Sage has met with the Former Hero of Time." Trololf laughs, you know, the kind that says I don't care, and I feel like hurting something.  
  
"I am well aware of her meeting. In fact, I am encouraging it. I want the two of them to break out." He smiles at the fire for a moment. "If they break out, they will still be in this castle. Then they will lead the others right to me." He stands up and faces the Moblin. "Keep track of them, but don't interfere or be caught. Understand?" The Moblin bows, then leaves.  
  
"This is going better than I planned....  
  
  
  
  
  
**Nabooru and her new friend!**  
  
  
  
"Do we have to stay here?" Nabooru says. She is getting tired of seeing the battlefield. Link gives her a wan smile.  
  
"If you can think of anything better..." he says. She pictures Lon Lon Ranch after they defeated Gannon. The celebration, the sheer joyfulness. This place is depressing. After a moment, they are both in the center of Lon Lon Ranch. The celebration seems to be going on, but no one notices them. Nabooru sends a questioning look.  
  
"They won't. This is our memory, not reliving it completely." He says. Link looks around. "Quite a party."  
  
"After we defeated Gannondorf." Nabooru says. "We first thought he was the one who escaped, but then we found out...." Link puts a comforting hand on her shoulder.  
  
"Let's find a way out of here." He says. Nabooru nods, and they start brainstorming.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
**One more time with the main group**  
  
  
  
Link has been poking at the barrier with his sword for about an hour now. They have tried everything they can think of; bombs, the Megaton Hammer, the Biggoron's Sword, Sage magic, regular magic, even the hairpin solution. Nothing is working. Saria has been kicking it for a while, but even she gave up. Sheik finally gets fed up with his best friend's persistence.  
  
"Link, get it through your head, it won't work." He says. Link doesn't even look at him. But he does stop.  
  
"Nabooru always said that 'no one can think of everything'. So there must be a way." He says. He looks down. "I wonder how far this goes?" he says. Figuring they have nothing to lose, they start following the wall.  
  
  
  
  
  
To be continued........ 


	19. broken the barrier, and SAVE THE KING!

The Secret of the Sages  
  
  
  
  
  
Disclaimer: I still don't own it. See me crying?  
  
A/N: Sorry for the wait...I don't have as much free time anymore..... ;-;  
  
  
  
Deep in the castle, Trololf sits watching the fire. In it, he can see exactly what the "heroes" are up to. They think they can find a way around his barrier.... how amusing. He sits sipping his wine, waiting for his signal.  
  
"The time is drawing nearer. How nice of them to bring my bride to me." He says to no one. He goes back to watching the fire.....waiting for the Gerudo Sage to break free. Just like he planned....  
  
  
  
  
  
**Meanwhile, deep in the Lost Woods.....**  
  
  
  
  
  
Link is running his sword against the barrier. They have been following it for almost two days now. And they are still no where closer to finding a way through it. The group decides to take a break.  
  
"This isn't getting us anywhere." Sheik points out. Link doesn't even look at him. Instead, he decides to let out some frustration. He starts hacking at the wall.  
  
"Yeah, this is going to work." Elene says. Then something unexpected happens. Link's left hand starts to glow.....then his sword starts to glow. Link takes another hack.....and is through. There is a huge hole in the field. The others are on their feet in an instant and rush onward.  
  
  
  
**Nabooru and Link....Link II?**  
  
  
  
"So now where are we?" Nabooru asks. Link looks around.  
  
"The end." He says. Nabooru gives him a cold look. "Not like that. This is where the dimension ends. On the other side of this darkness is where we want to be....only I don't know where I'll end up."  
  
"What do you mean by that?" Nabooru asks. Link sighs.  
  
"You know where your body is. I don't. We will return to wherever our body is." Nabooru thinks a moment. So she'll still be inside Trololf's castle. Good. Then she can kill him personally. But.....where will Link be? Well, first things first.  
  
"How do we get out of here?" Link pokes the air. Nabooru sees that it seems like some kind of fabric.  
  
"If you can get through that, you're out. But I don't know how to break through." Nabooru nods. Time to start experimenting.  
  
  
  
  
  
**IMPORTANT DEVELOPMENT!**  
  
  
  
Literally millions of Stalfos, Keese, Lizafos, and other monsters descend on the Gerudo Valley. Every Gerudo is fighting back as hard as they can......save one. From the inner depths of the Gerudo Fortress, comes one solitary figure..carrying their young King. Every monster sees her, and tries to grab her or kill her. The other Gerudos prevent that as much as possible. Soon, she disappears into the Haunted Wasteland....hoping to reach the safety of the Spirit Temple. But she is not alone, as a King Dodongo is sent to capture her and their King....  
  
  
  
To be continued...... 


	20. Nabooru is back in the real world, but t...

The Secret of the Sages  
  
  
  
Disclaimer: Same as always.  
  
  
  
  
  
**With the Sages**  
  
  
  
The castle is finally within reach. Link rushes headlong toward it, until Dar pulls him back. If Link had gone another step, he would have been extra crispy. A river of lava is between them and the castle. Even the Gorons won't dare to try crossing it. From out of no where, they can hear laughing.  
  
"I congratulate you all." Trololf says. "But you cannot reach my keep until I say so." The maniacal laughter fades out. And everyone is left royally pissed.  
  
  
  
**Nabooru.....**  
  
  
  
"Just a little more...."Nabooru groans as she strains to pull free. She is almost there.  
  
"Good luck!" Link calls to her. Then she feels a familiar sensation. Gravity. She opens her eyes. And stands up in her own body. She takes a moment to steady herself. Still in Trololf's castle. Still in danger. But now, she is free. She heads off to find the former King. But in the back of her mind, she wonders what would become of Link....  
  
  
  
**With old Link**  
  
  
  
"She made it." He says. He looks around. Back to his nightmare. He looks down. "I....I can help." Then he starts to break through the barrier himself. Only to emerge in Trololf's dungeon. "Damn. He planned for this." Before he can start searching for a way out, Nabooru comes through like a blur. She stops and doubles back.  
  
"Link? From the Dark Realm?" she asks. Link nods. Nabooru takes a scimitar **I'll put all the plot holes in I want ** and slices the lock on the door. When Link is free, they both head on out.......and right into a group of Stalfos.  
  
  
  
**Haunted Wasteland**  
  
  
  
"Almost........there......" the lone Gerudo is within sight of the Spirit Temple. There are always Gerudo guards there. The most powerful fighters and mages are stationed in the Temple itself. She looks back, and immediately pours on the gas. The King Dodongo is right behind her. She rushes up the steps, only to find the temple sealed shut.  
  
"Please! Open up! Our King is in Danger!" She looks back. The dodongo is coming closer. The doors open up behind her and she is pulled inside, the child King still in her arms. But when she looks up, she comes close to passing out. Holding on to her are two Iron Knuckles. All around are unconscious Gerudos. The Temple has been captured.  
  
  
  
To be continued...... 


	21. The King captured, and arriving closer t...

The Secret of the Sages  
  
  
  
  
  
Disclaimer: Read the other chapters.  
  
  
  
  
  
**In the Spirit Temple**  
  
  
  
  
  
Setenle, the Gerudo who brought the King to the Temple, is led into the innermost chambers. The Gerudo King is still in her arms. Young Tallert looks around confused. They are brought before what appears to be a Gerudo male, but something about the face is different. The Iron Knuckles force her to kneel before this.......person. Tallert holds onto her tightly. He doesn't like the look of this man either.  
  
"Greetings. How kind of you to bring the child King to us." The person says. "I was sent her to receive you on behalf of his Most Royal Majesty, King Trololf. He desires to see this young king." He tries to take Tallert away from Setenle, but a barrier stops him. He looks at Tallert, who is giving the innocent routine. Setenle holds him tighter.  
  
"If you wish our King, you must kill me first." She says. She manages to stand and draw a sword even while holding Tallert. The man seems amused.  
  
  
  
"You really think you can battle me holding the little one?" he asks. Before Setenle can respond, Tallert starts shrieking. Every creature in that room is on the floor save himself, Setenle, and the man before them. When he stops, the man looks around. They are all unconscious.  
  
"Impressive. Looks like the little kid does have some power." He says. Setenle holds him tighter. "Fine, have it your way." Within moments, both Setenle and Tallert are imprisoned within a blue crystal. "I'm sure His Most Royal Majesty will have no problem with dealing with a traitor." The man turns and instructs a Stalfos to report to Trololf.  
  
  
  
  
  
**With Nabooru and Link**  
  
  
  
  
  
Nabooru and Link have spent the last half-hour hacking Stalfos. These things aren't strong, but there are a ton of them.  
  
"We aren't getting anywhere!" Link calls to Nabooru. Nabooru clenches her teeth.  
  
"I can see that! If you have a better idea, now would be a good time!" she calls back. Link shakes his head as another Stalfos falls to his sword.  
  
"Didn't they give you sages any powers?" he yells again. Nabooru is about to give a sarcastic comment when she gets an idea. She uses the Sage powers to create as many copies of herself as there are Stalfos, then hacks them all down. When she goes back to one, she walks over to Link.  
  
"Give me a break, I'm still new at this." She says. Link just shakes his head. They begin to head on when they hear someone clapping. When they turn, they see Trololf standing on the other side of the room.  
  
"Congratulations. You have broken free." He says. "Too bad you are too late. I already have the young King. And a very feisty Gerudo who just can't quit." Nabooru grits her teeth. He can't have Tallert, it's impossible. Link seems just as upset.  
  
"Why.....you......" Nabooru can't even get the words out. Trololf just smiles.  
  
"Don't worry my dear, I'll make sure his death is quite painless. Unfortunately, I can't say the same for the traitor." Nabooru loses it.  
  
"THE ONLY TRAITOR HERE IS YOU!" She shouts. "YOU DEFY THE SACRED SCRIPTURES, THEN SOMEHOW CLAIM TO BE OUR KING!? YOU CAN NEVER BE OUR KING!" Trololf actually yawns.  
  
"Are you through?" he says. Nabooru is steaming. "Only might can create a king. The scriptures are just a waste of paper." Link almost goes into shock. Even he knows that Goddess Din created the Gerudo Scriptures. And here he is saying they are a waste?! Nabooru has heard enough. She charges at Trololf with her scimitar drawn. But it only takes a quick gesture from Trololf to create a barrier to reflect her.  
  
"I swear on my life I will make you pay for this!" Nabooru shouts. Trololf just turns and goes into another room, sealing the door behind him. Link goes up and tries to calm Nabooru down.  
  
  
  
  
  
**With the rest of the cast**  
  
  
  
"Why can't you two cross it!?" Link shouts at Darunia and Dar. "You have seen lava before!" Dar finally steps up to him.  
  
"Link, look at it. It isn't ordinary lava." He says. Link sits on the ground frustrated. Ruto and Elene are sitting on a rock as far away from the molten river as they can get. Oloken and Hilron are trying to come up with something that won't burn up if they throw it in there. Tyrn is silent. Impa, Rauru, and Saria are just sitting there silent. Lylan finally comes up with something.  
  
"Elene, don't you have ice powers?" she asks. The river Zora looks up at her.  
  
"Yeah, so what?!" she practically shouts.  
  
"Look Elene, we are all frustrated, don't take it out on me." Lylan says. "Now, can't you freeze the lava?" Elene thinks a moment.  
  
"Well, I suppose it is worth a shot." She says. She goes over and pulls what power she has left and tries to freeze the lava. For a moment, it looks like it will work, but then it returns to its normal state. Elene sits down exhausted.  
  
"Not enough power?" Ruto asks. Elene just nods. "So tell me how to do it." Elene looks up at Ruto. The other sages join in. After they have frozen it solid, Sheik comes up from further down.  
  
"Hey guys, this guy isn't too bright. There is a stone bridge further......down....." he stops talking as he notices everyone's stares. "Bad timing, huh?" he says. The group groans, then crosses and heads up to the keep.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
To be continued...... 


	22. Link is not happy, and the threat is off...

The Secret of the Sages  
  
Disclaimer: read the others.  
  
A/N: No it's not dead. Hopefully Mr. Writer's block will leave me alone now.  
  
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Nabooru is still seething. Link is still trying to get her to relax. Twice he has had to dodge her scimitars.  
  
"Nabooru," Link pleads, "Getting pissed isn't going to help anyone." Nabooru finally calms down.  
  
"Fine." She says. They both start heading through the rooms of the castle. It doesn't take long to get lost. Somehow, they end up in the room where Oloken and Nabooru were originally being held. The shattered crystal is still there, but nothing else. Nabooru is trying to figure out what to do from here when Link taps her on the shoulder.  
  
"You may want to see this...." He says. Nabooru turns around and sees that the door has disappeared. There is no way out of the room. They are trapped.  
  
**Back at Hyrule Castle**  
  
Reiyno has stayed behind at the castle. When the group saw the near chaos the Gerudo were in they decided that SOMEONE should stay behind. Since Reiyno is Prince of the Zoras, Zelda asked him to take over for the time they were gone. When they were about to enter the keep, she asked Tyrn to go back. Tyrn is there because they have asked him to go over all the ancient writings to see about a weakness in Trololf. And so the two sit in the study going through each and every book in the castle.  
  
"Anything?" Reiyno finally asks. Tyrn just shakes it's (?) head.  
  
"No.....information......specific." he says.  
  
"What about Gerudo in general? Is there anything that they are collectively allergic to or something?"  
  
"Not....sure....difficult..low chance..." Tyrn puts down the book and grabs another. "Take.....too.....long.....this...." Reiyno just sighs.  
  
"Yeah, I know...." He looks out the window at the floating castle. And hopes the others are doing better than they are.  
  
**Main crowd**  
  
The group looks up at the Castle. It is at least twice as tall as Gannon's Tower had been. Link groans remembering how hard it was getting up that.  
  
"There doesn't seem to be a door around....." Saria comments.  
  
"Like I said, doors are overrated." Hilron says. He goes up to the wall and gives it a good solid kick. In doing so he blasts back the stone and reveals the entrance. He turns back to the group and notices the surprised looks. He bows and smiles. "Thank you, for my next trick...." Elene walks up and smacks him, then the group heads through the door and into the keep. Once inside, the notice Trololf's wonderful interior design. Can you say BLACK TO EXTREME? There is no other color in the entire room. It is like walking into a void.  
  
"Nice design." Sheik comments.  
  
"Remind me to kill his decorator." Elene chimes in.  
  
"There has to be a door around here somewhere...." Link mumbles as he walks into a room. Some inner instinct is telling the others to stay where they are. Link is standing in the center of the room looking back at the group.  
  
"What?" he says. Before anyone can answer, the ground starts to shake. At first only a little, then a lot. Before long, everyone is flat on their rears. Link scrambles to get up quickly and holds his sword in a death grip. He turns around and sees the ugliest monster in history standing in front of him with some kind of hammer. Link thinks for not even a split second and realizes that that hammer would hurt, and maybe he shouldn't give it a stationary target. Out of the corner of his eye he notices a faint shimmering. A forcefield has gone up, trapping him in with the monster and the others outside and out of reach.  
  
"This is gonna suck." Ruto says. The group can only watch as Link tries to defeat something 10 times his height.  
  
**Back with Nabooru and the other Link**  
  
"This is great." Nabooru has nailed each wall with no avail. As she and Link stand there trying to figure out what to do, some kind of screen lights up on a wall. Trololf's face is on it.  
  
"Hello there. I see you are enjoying your accommodations." He says. Nabooru grits her teeth. "I must thank you for getting Link out as well. Now I can finish what I started all those years ago."  
  
"You.....you....." Nabooru can't get it out.  
  
"Now now," Trololf says. "Such language for a lady, it isn't proper. Tread gently my dear, for I hold something you treasure." Trololf steps aside and Nabooru gasps. Inside a blue crystal is one of the Gerudo guards holding King Tallert. Link is just standing there in shock.  
  
"Setenle!! DRENOTE NOE CENONEOUI!! QULENT LORENT SOFIEI!!" Nabooru shouts in Gerudo. The Gerudo nods and holds Tallert tighter.  
  
"Naleent olentnet evetnotne!! Nabooru, soltine navere!" Setenle shouts back. Trololf comes back confused.  
  
"That wasn't Gerudo....." he says dangerously. Nabooru smirks.  
  
"That's MODERN Gerudo. You only know Ancient Gerudo." She says. Trololf smiles.  
  
"Not that it matters. I still have to decide what to do with her. And the child will die soon. Have no worry." The screen disappears. Link turns to Nabooru.  
  
"So what did you say?" he asks.  
  
"I told her not to give him up no matter what the cost. She responded that she understood and would do her best." She says simply. Link narrows his eyes.  
  
"You aren't worried about a certain someone eavesdropping?"  
  
"If he couldn't guess that was what I said, then he is an idiot." Nabooru responds. "Now, about getting out of here...."  
  
Sorry this is taking so long.....I hope you still like it....... 


	23. Comming together, finally

The Secret of the Sages  
  
Disclaimer: The same as always.  
  
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Picture one of the Moblins in the maze in front of the Forest Temple of Ocarina of Time. Now chop off half of its face, and royally screw up the other half. Make its body look completely diseased, but not so much that you can't tell what it is. Now, enlarge it ten times and give it the mother of all sledgehammers. And put it in front of Link. That's what he is looking at inside the forcefield ring in Trololf's tower. Link looks up and says two words.  
  
"Aw, crap." Link pulls out the Master Sword and the Mirror Shield. The others are powerless to help him. The group has formed a protective circle around Zelda just in case. All weapons are out. Link takes a slash at the monster's legs only to be bounced back. He quickly dives out of the way of the hammer that comes crashing down.  
  
"Come on Link!!" Zelda shouts. Link just grits his teeth.  
  
"Enjoying your playmate?" Link keeps his eyes on the monster, but everyone else looks around wildly. "Poor Hero of Time, can't defeat my weakest minion."  
  
"Trololf." Lylan whispers. Link takes another slash, but just misses getting squashed again.  
  
"HURRY UP AND KILL THAT THING SO WE CAN GO ON!" Elene shouts from the side.  
  
"If you think you can do better...." Link shouts back, still keeping his eyes on the monster. Elene shuts up.  
  
"Oh dear, now....do you honestly believe that you can defeat my minion?" Trololf continues his voice-over. "Well, this may be entertaining for a while, mind if I watch?" That comment draws groans from the group. Link, once again, tries a slash. But this time, he aims for a more.....sensitive spot (all you boys know what area I'm talking about). The monster anticipates this and takes a nice golf swing. Link ends up in serious pain slamming into the forcefield. Zelda shrieks, while the others are too stunned to do anything.  
  
"Owies....." Link says standing up. Impa is checking over the monster carefully, but not finding anything helpful. Looks like Link is on his own.....  
  
**With Nabooru and the other Link**  
  
They are still stuck in that room. Nabooru has been seething for a while now, but she has calmed down. Both she and Link are checking every part of the wall for a way out. When she goes over to where the door used to be, she raps on it with her knuckles. Then she steps back a second. That sounded hollow! She gets a sudden suspicion and puts her hand where the doorknob used to be. And feels her hand close over it and turn it, opening the door!  
  
"Hey Link." She says. Link looks over at her. "How do you get out of a room with no doors or windows?"  
  
"What do you think we have been trying to figure out?!" he shouts. Nabooru opens the door. Link stands there speechless.  
  
"The same way you came in." she says. They charge out the door and down the hall, weapons ready.  
  
**Anyone curious about Rauru?**  
  
Inside the main room of the Light Temple, Rauru pours over texts older than he is (and that's pretty darn old). The crystal walls refract the light like prisms, making it so no light source is necessary inside the Temple. There are almost no decorations, and very little furniture in this room. A small bookcase in one corner, a couch and a table. A crystal chandelier hangs from the ceiling, mostly for decoration. Through the crystal walls you can vaguely make out the gardens outside the Temple. But Rauru doesn't care about any of that. The texts he is looking through are basically instruction manuals. He has kept their existence hidden from the other Sages. But now, he wishes he hadn't. It would be good to have some help here. As he picks up another one, he glances on the cover.  
  
"'A listing of the minions and monsters of the second Gerudo King, Trololf.'" He mutters, reading the title. He opens it up and sees the monster Link is fighting on one of the first pages.  
  
"Let's see here, 'Noin-Moblin, giant monsters with no brains. Mostly uses a giant hammer, although some are reported to use blades not unlike the Biggoron's Sword. Hero of Time defeated by climbing onto tower window and first shooting arrow to at head to stun and open it's mouth, then throwing Powder Keg into the mouth.' We don't have those here..." Rauru mutters. "That's going to be a lot of bombs." He continues reading. " 'After demonstration of power of the kegs, Hylian Gorons banned their production and/or use. Termina Gorons now require extensive training to be licensed.'"  
  
Rauru starts flipping through the pages. Some kind of messed up seagull, also king-sized; a fish that looked like it had been fried in butter and oil and lived to tell of it; and a dragon that looked a lot like Volvagia. Rauru just shakes his head. Then he closes the book and brings it with him down the hall. As he stands on the replica of the Chamber of Sages Light Symbol, he sighs. Link is going to need this. He heads for the Temple of Time, then to Hyrule Castle.  
  
**Back with Link and Nabooru**  
  
"Where are you going?!" Link shouts. Nabooru has been charging at full speed down the hall. Link can barely keep up.  
  
"I can hear something! I think it was Link! My Link!" she shouts back. They round a corner and barely stop in time. In front of them is the giant monster and its hammer, and Link on one knee. As they watch, a fairy comes out from somewhere and heals him. But the monster doesn't wait for him to get better before taking a huge swing. Link somehow manages to dodge, but can't make a counterattack.  
  
"HEY KID!" the elder Link shouts. Present Link (boy is this going to get confusing) glances up.  
  
"NABOORU!" He shouts, then has to dive to get out of the way.  
  
"Keep your eye on the battle kid!" Nabooru calls.  
  
"POWDER KEG!" Elder Link shouts.  
  
"I DON'T HAVE ONE!" Link shouts back.  
  
"That's going to be a LOT of bombs." Elder Link says to Nabooru. Nabooru just groans.  
  
"So what do you do with the powder keg anyway?" Nabooru asks.  
  
"Shove it down its throat." Elder Link replies. Nabooru thinks a bit.  
  
"And how do we do that?" Nabooru asks. "Link has the bombs. There is no way he has that kind of arm." Nabooru and the elder Link are forced to watch the other Link fight for his life.  
  
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	24. Finally got rid of that thing, and we no...

The Secret of the Sages  
  
Disclaimer: The usual crap. What do you honestly expect?  
  
A/N: So we have SOME sense of clarity, Link from ages ago will be spelled L-I-N-K-E. That way you know who they are talking about. Pronunciation is still the same.  
  
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Link looks up at the giant monster. Powder keg? Where in Farore's name was he supposed to get one of those?! It's not like they sell them on the streets or anything. He jumps to the side and barely misses getting nailed by the hammer. He quickly thinks of his inventory: Sword, shield (for all the good those are doing him), bow, arrows, bombs (full bag of 60, he didn't have enough money to buy one that could hold 100), longshot, hover boots in his pack somewhere //Damn, Zelda is holding that...//, Golden Gauntlets, Megaton hammer; that's about it. He quickly dodges another swing, then quickly pulls out the Megaton hammer. He slams it as hard as he can on the monster's foot. It drops its hammer on the ground and starts hopping around on one foot crying. Link can't help but chuckle at that. Too bad it doesn't last long.....  
  
Nabooru and Linke watch from up a floor. Nabooru bursts out laughing when Link nailed its foot. Even Linke is smiling for the first time she has seen. He just shakes his head and closes his eyes.  
  
"Tell me he doesn't honestly think it will be that easy." He says. Nabooru smirks.  
  
"Hey, lighten up. He's gotta do something." She responds. She looks at Linke, then down at Link. Her conscience is still bothering her about lying to Linke about what she said to Setenle. She wasn't really talking to the Gerudo guard, but to little Tallert. Young though he may be, he is very powerful. Calling to Setenle was just to throw off Trololf. Setenle understood and made the response to make Trololf believe it, and to let her know that Tallert understood. Now it was time to defeat him and rescue their King.  
  
"OUCH!" Linke says next to her, bringing her back to the present. Link has just gotten the business end of that mallet again. They have to think of something fast. Link has already used 2 of his 4 fairies. Nabooru thinks for a moment.  
  
"Hey Linke.." She says. Linke turns to her. "How many bombs would he need?" Linke thinks a moment.  
  
"Fifty, maybe..not really sure, but somewhere close to that." He responds. Nabooru turns to Link on the floor.  
  
"HEY LINK, USE YOUR LONGSHOT TO DRAG THAT THINGS HEAD DOWN, THEN SHOVE ALL YOUR BOMBS DOWN ITS THROAT!" she cries. Link lights up and pulls out the longshot. He sinks the monster on the nose and it falls over. Link barely gets out from under it. Then he quickly lights a few of his bombs and throws the whole bag into its mouth. It swallows it. Link gets as far away as possible. After a moment, it blows up. When the smoke clears, there is no more monster. Link sinks to the ground and closes his eyes. The forcefield ring disappears and the group rushes in. Nabooru and Linke jump down from where they are and join the group. Zelda is giving Link a Red Potion when they approach. The former Sages back away. Linke just looks at them.  
  
"What?" he says. Lylan is completely speechless. Dar is just staring. Elene starts walking back up to him, Hilron right beside her. Oloken smiles.  
  
"Where the heck ya been!?" Elene says giving Linke a slap on the back.  
  
"To hell and back." Linke replies. Hilron has a huge smile.  
  
"So what gives?" he asks. Linke just shrugs. Then he gestures to Nabooru.  
  
"She's got a lot of spirit." He says. "She got me out."  
  
"Out?" Oloken asks.  
  
"When we sealed Trololf away, he decided I was going with him." Linke says with a rueful smile. Link, meanwhile, has finally stood up.  
  
"You realize what that means, right?" he says. Linke just stares at him.  
  
"I give up kid, what?" Linke responds. Link gets an evil smile.  
  
"That makes you my great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great- great-great-great-great-great-grandfather." He says. Linke just stares at him a moment.  
  
"Look, I'm happy my wife and child were safe, but I think you added a few extras in there." He says. Link laughs. Soon, just about everyone is. Impa is the one to break it up.  
  
"We aren't finished here yet." She reminds them. Link looks at Nabooru.  
  
"You owe me a bomb bag." He says.  
  
"Kid, I'll even upgrade it." Nabooru responds. They head off through the door.  
  
**With Trololf**  
  
"BLAST IT!!" Trololf shouts. He is in a throne room. Like everywhere else in his castle, the entire room is black. The only other color is the fireplace in the corner. Across the room from the throne is the crystal enclosing Tallert and Setenle. Setenle is holding Tallert tightly, while Tallert looks around debating whether to throw a tantrum or not. Trololf rises from the throne and walks over to the two.  
  
"Once again, what was the command Nabooru gave you!?" He shouts at them. Setenle just stares him back, not even flinching. And not saying a word. Tallert, however, has another idea.....  
  
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH HHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" he screams. Trololf is startled by the sudden screaming and takes a few steps back before he remembers himself. Setenle smiles and gives Tallert a pat on the head. He stops screaming and decides it's naptime. Trololf glares at them, then goes back to his throne.  
  
"The kid may be lucky, he may have friends, but he will need more than that to get up here." He says. He calls one of his minions.  
  
"Yes sire?" A deep purple Stalfos appears in front of him and bows.  
  
"I want that kid dead, I want those Sages dead except for the Gerudo, I want Zelda. If that cannot be carried out, I will have your head and anyone else's I find necessary. Understood!?" The Stalfos nods, then hurries out to carry out its orders.  
  
"You will still fail." Setenle says. Trololf looks at her and at the sleeping Tallert.  
  
"If I do, that boy goes with me." He says gesturing toward Tallert. Setenle holds him tighter.  
  
"Link, Nabooru, all of you.......please hurry......" She whispers. 


End file.
